Facebook and Twitter dispute Trump’s claim China is meddling in US elections
- Social media giants say no evidence to support American president’s accusation that Beijing is ‘attempting to interfere’ in midterm votes
Social media giants Facebook and Twitter have not detected Chinese meddling in the 2018 elections, company officials said, casting doubt on claims by President Donald Trump that Beijing is trying to interfere.
The companies have reported online disinformation campaigns before the November 6 elections that appear to originate from Russia and Iran. But press representatives for both firms, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they have not found evidence of such activity from China.
Facebook and Twitter are the latest in a string of tech companies to dispute Trump’s claim.
China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election … against my administration
In the wake of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, Facebook and Twitter have stepped up efforts to detect and stop disinformation campaigns by foreign governments on their platforms. The companies use automated algorithms and human reviews of suspicious activity to search for coordinated campaigns.