More than 50,000 pieces of content that broke its policy on manipulated media have been labeled or removed by the company. Roughly 75,000 accounts were removed from the platform for inauthentic behavior. The number encompassed users not engaged in war propaganda, but it did include accounts associated with #I StandWithPutin, which went viral last month thanks to a coordinated campaign of fake accounts.
A wide range of actors were responsible for manipulating the platform, such as those recirculating old conflict footage as if it were new, as well as the many Ukraine-related fundraising scam that have popped up.
Last month, the company promised to not amplify or promote links to state-affiliated media from users, which is a step up from its previous policy of not promoting or amplification links from accounts of the state-affiliated media. Since February 28th, there have been more than 61,000 uniquetweets that included links to state-run media. It estimates that doing so reduced the reach of these messages by 30 percent.
State-run media like Sputnik can still use their verified accounts, but they have to label what they say. Both propaganda outlets have been banned from advertising.
Misinformation about the invasion of Ukraine has thrived on social media. The government of Russia has blocked access to most Western-operated platforms for civilians in order to suppress dissent amongst its own people. The Kremlin's own campaigns on these platforms are still going strong. Far-right and right-wing figures in the United States and Chinese state media amplified a Russia-backed theory that the U.S. is helping Ukraine build bioweapons.
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