Twitter Plans to Give Congress a Facebook-Like Analysis of Russian Activity

Twitter is expected to give Congress an analysis of Russian activity on its social media site during the 2016 presidential election, a source told The Wall Street Journal.

Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Twitter’s report will likely be similar to the one Facebook gave congressional investigators on Wednesday. Facebook’s analysis found that a pro-Kremlin group in Russia purchased $100,000 in political ads during the election, according to a company blog post. Twitter declined to comment on the Journal report.

Warner said that Facebook’s findings may be the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of Russian activity on social media sites during the election. “How do we make sure on a going forward basis that Americans at least know the source of the information they’re receiving,” Warner said in the interview. “I think we deserve to know if foreigners are interfering in our elections.”

He made the announcement just one day after Facebook released an internal report that found nearly 500 fake accounts possibly tied to Russia bought ads with “divisive messages” between June 2015 and May 2017. What’s more, Facebook gave those findings and all other information about ads “likely” purchased by Russian operatives to special counsel Robert Mueller. The former FBI director is investigating Russian’s efforts to influence the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump‘s campaign colluded with the Kremlin.