Social media giants urged to crack down on propaganda after Russia’s ‘sinister and systematic attack’ on 2016 US elections
Spy agencies have said Moscow would try to interfere in the 2018 midterms, again by using platforms such as Facebook to spread its messages
US Republicans and Democrats both called for concerted action to combat a repeat of foreign interference in US elections after Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced indictments of Russians for meddling in the 2016 US campaign on Friday.
“These Russians engaged in a sinister and systematic attack on our political system,” Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives said, calling the suspects’ actions a conspiracy targeting democracy.
“Today’s announcement underscores why we need to follow the facts and work to protect the integrity of future elections,” Ryan said.
US spy agencies have said Russia would try to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections, again by using social media to spread propaganda.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the US Senate Intelligence Committee, pledged to press social media companies “to be far more aggressive and proactive in responding to this threat”.
The bipartisan calls for action were a departure from weeks of bickering between the two parties over the Russia investigations, which raised questions about whether Congress would be able to make credible recommendations about how to combat future election meddling.