X removes 13,000 accounts in suspected foreign influence operations ahead of US midterms

Mass account purge announced ahead of midterms

X says it has removed more than 13,000 accounts involved in three suspected foreign influence operations targeting US political debate. In a post on Wednesday evening, the platform linked the networks to Iran, Russia, and China, and said they used inauthentic accounts to post and amplify political content targeting candidates and public figures across the political spectrum. The announcement comes ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3.

X stated that people come to the platform to discuss world events, including the 2026 midterms, and that free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy. The company said its job is to keep conversation authentic, open, and safe. However, X did not publicly explain the evidence behind its attribution.

Civic Integrity policy relies on Community Notes

Separately, X highlighted its Civic Integrity policy, which covers misleading information about how, when, and where to vote, as well as content intended to discourage participation. Reports submitted under Civic Integrity are routed into requests for Community Notes. The platform says it uses the crowdsourced feature alongside platform moderation and may label policy-breaking posts in critical cases.

Community Notes has faced scrutiny. When the European Commission launched formal proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act in 2023, it raised questions about the feature's effectiveness for validating a post's accuracy. X's reliance on crowdsourced context follows layoffs and senior departures from its moderation teams after Musk acquired Twitter.

Foreign interference concerns extend beyond US elections

Foreign influence campaigns are not confined to US elections. MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum said this week that Russia had attempted to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum, but cautioned against treating that as evidence it changed the result.

Sources: The Register