midterm
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Twitter banned 2,600 Iran-linked accounts for election meddling
Since September, Twitter has suspended 2,617 accounts linked to Iran, it said in a report on its US midterm election efforts. Some of the accounts claimed they were American news outlets and discussed US political and social issues. Twitter claims it proactively suspended most of the accounts prior to Election Day.
Facebook confirms accounts banned ahead of election had Russian ties
Facebook has confirmed that the 115 accounts it blocked yesterday due to "inauthentic behavior" are likely linked to Russia. In a new statement, the company says that a site claiming association with the Russia-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) posted a list of fake Instagram accounts it had made ahead of the midterm elections, many of which included those removed by Facebook yesterday. The IRA has been linked to previous interference with US politics and the 2016 Presidential election.
Snapchat drives voter registration inside its app
The November midterms are just weeks away, and following efforts from Instagram and Twitter to engage users in the voting process, Snapchat has now joined the fold. Starting today, all US Snapchat users aged 18+ will see a voter registration link on their user profile page. Tap it, and you'll be taken to a made-for-Snapchat TurboVote mobile site, where you can register to vote quickly and easily, as well as get all kinds of other info about the election. Team Snapchat will send a video message to all of its 18+ US users, encouraging them to sign up, and those that do get a special filter. Everything will be available in Spanish, too.
