In a statement posted on Wednesday evening, X said it had “nuked” accounts that used inauthentic profiles to amplify political content about candidates and public figures across the political spectrum. The company described the moves as part of its effort to keep the conversation on its platform authentic, open and safe.
“People come to X to talk about what's happening in the world, including the upcoming 2026 US midterms,” the platform said. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and we are proud that X is the global town square where these debates happen. Our job is to keep that conversation authentic, open, and safe.”
X also highlighted its Civic Integrity policy, which covers misleading information about how, when and where to vote, as well as content designed to discourage participation. Reports submitted under Civic Integrity are routed into requests for Community Notes, X’s crowdsourced fact-checking feature. The company says Community Notes is used alongside platform moderation and may label policy-breaking posts in critical cases.
Community Notes has faced scrutiny before. In 2023, the European Commission launched formal proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act and questioned the feature’s effectiveness in validating a post’s accuracy. X’s reliance on crowdsourced context follows significant layoffs and senior departures from its moderation teams after Elon Musk acquired the company.
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.