US Researchers Identify Over 10Mln 'Inauthentic' 2016 US Election Tweets - Think Tank

Sumaira FH Published October 17, 2018 | 11:10 PM

Some 4,000 Twitter accounts originating in Russia and Iran generated more than 10 million tweets, which have been discovered and cataloged during nearly three years of research, the Atlantic Council think tank's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) said in a press release on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2018) Some 4,000 Twitter accounts originating in Russia and Iran generated more than 10 million tweets, which have been discovered and cataloged during nearly three years of research, the Atlantic Council think tank's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) said in a press release on Wednesday.

"These large data sets comprise 3,841 accounts affiliated with the IRA [Internet Research Agency], originating in Russia, and 770 other accounts, potentially originating in Iran," the release said.

The "inauthentic" accounts generated more than 10 million tweets and more than 2 million images, videos and Periscope broadcasts dating back to 2009, the release explained.

The internet Research Agency is a Russian company based in St. Petersburg that the US claims used social media in an attempt to influence the outcome of 2016 US presidential elections.

The Russian government has repeatedly denied participating in any messaging directed at US elections and rejected accusations of links with the IRA, saying such actions are contrary to the principles and conduct of Russian foreign policy. In addition, Russian officials have said the allegations have been made up to excuse the election loss of a presidential candidate as well as deflect public attention from actual instances of election fraud and corruption.

DFRLab, which began its analysis in 2016, said it would provide the data to a small group of researchers with expertise in social media campaigns for further analysis, while continuing "to proactively combat nefarious attempts to undermine the integrity of Twitter."

The Washington-based Atlantic Council is a research and advocacy organization that typically supports US-European ties and NATO.