Tech Giants Purge Accounts Linked to Foreign Influence Campaign

Tech Companies Google, Facebook, and Twitter have begun cracking down an influence campaign led by the Iranian and Russian Government. The campaign attempts influence US politics by targeting political campaigns, journalist, and activists. This operation followed an earlier attempt by a hacker group affiliated with the Russian Government to gain information on American politicians.

Google announced it had removed 39 YouTube channels, six blogger accounts, and 13 Google+ accounts associated with the Iranian Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting(IRIB) association. Another 42 channels that were linked to an organization with ties to the Russian government were also removed.

Twitter stated they had suspended 284 accounts that are affiliated with Iran and Russia. The company reports it will continue working with law enforcement and other tech companies.

As with prior investigations, we are committed to engaging with other companies and relevant law enforcement entities. Our goal is to assist investigations into these activities and where possible, we will provide the public with transparency and context on our efforts.

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) August 22, 2018

Facebook has also investigated the activities done by state-sponsored actors in its platform. During the probe they discovered that Iran had used the social media platform to create a network of Pages used to spread disinformation. As of now, the company has removed 652 Pages, groups and accounts that were part of the Iranian campaign.