Following US indictments, Twitter bans Russia-linked accounts

Vartha Bharati | 15-07-2018 | 15:34:00 IST

San Francisco, July 15 : In response to the US' indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking into the Democrats' emails during the 2016 presidential campaign, Twitter has banned accounts for both Moscow-linked DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0.

They were "connected to a network of accounts" that had already been shut down for violating rules, a Twitter spokesperson told Engadget of the suspensions on Saturday.

At the same time, Twitter was aware that the shutdowns were considered overdue and the indictments just formalised the connections, the company added.

"We're reviewing our policies in light of this and expect to make updates soon," Twitter told The New York Times in a separate statement.

"We recognise that to promote healthy conversation we need to be responsive to ways the platform is being misused and we are committed to that here and everywhere," the company added.

It's not certain what those changes might be.

However, Twitter has faced more than a handful of accusations that it only belatedly recognised the threat of electoral interference on its platform, with bot purges, candidate labels and other anti-manipulation tactics only coming after the 2016 US presidential vote.

This may be an acknowledgment that it needs to be more proactive in dealing with accounts linked to hacking and other criminal activity, especially when politics are involved.

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Kharge expresses regret over 'illiterate' remark, says he has highest of respect for Gujaratis

08-04-2026 ¦ 08-04-2026 IST

Photo: Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI)

New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his controversial statement calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate", and said he has always had and will continue to have the highest of respect for the people of the state.

In a post on X, the Congress president said, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret.

"It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect."

Kharge on Sunday had sparked a row during his Assembly poll campaign in Kerala, calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate" and claiming they were being "fooled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the same time, Kharge said neither Modi nor Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could fool the people of Kerala, describing them as "very clever and educated".

"Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever and educated. Modiji, Vijayan, you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you cannot fool the people of Kerala," the Congress chief had said.

He made the remark while alleging that both Modi and Vijayan were following the same path, with no difference between them except the parties they lead.

The BJP on Tuesday had demanded an apology from Kharge for his remarks, saying that the comment was "shameless, demeaning and utterly despicable."

Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge's statement.