Twitter says it removed 130 accounts linked to Iran disrupting debate conversations

Twitter removed approximately 130 accounts linked to Iran that were attempting to disrupt the public conversation during the first presidential debate, the company said Wednesday. 

The social media network said it removed the accounts “based on intel” provided by The FBI. 

“We identified these accounts quickly, removed them from Twitter, and shared full details with our peers, as standard,” the company tweeted. 

Twitter said the posts from the removed accounts had “very low engagement and did not make an impact on the public conversation.” 

We identified these accounts quickly, removed them from Twitter, and shared full details with our peers, as standard. They had very low engagement and did not make an impact on the public conversation. Our capacity and speed continue to grow, and we’ll remain vigilant. Samples ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1qzzL8l29H

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) October 1, 2020

In a series of tweets announcing the removed accounts, Twitter also included screenshots of examples of posts from the removed accounts. 

Twitter said the accounts and their content will be published in full once an investigation is complete, as standard practice.