Twitter steps up fight against fake accounts
San Francisco, Oct 2 : To further protect the integrity of elections, Twitter on Tuesday said it will now delete fake accounts engaged in a variety of emergent, malicious behaviours.
As platform manipulation tactics continue to evolve, the micro-blogging platform said it is expanding rules to better reflect how it identifies fake accounts and what types of inauthentic activity violate its guidelines before the US mid-term elections in November.
"Some of the factors that we will take into account when determining whether an account is fake include use of stock or stolen avatar photos, use of stolen or copied profile bios and use of intentionally misleading profile information, including profile location," said Del Harvey, Vice President, Trust and Safety, Twitter, in a blog post.
"We are expanding our enforcement approach to include accounts that deliberately mimic or are intended to replace accounts we have previously suspended for violating our rules," she added.
Twitter has also expanded the criteria for when it will take action on accounts which claim responsibility for a hack, which includes threats and public incentives to hack specific people and accounts.
"In August, we removed approximately 50 accounts misrepresenting themselves as members of various state Republican parties," informed Yoel Roth, Head of Site Integrity at Twitter.
"We have also taken action on Tweets sharing media regarding elections and political issues with misleading or incorrect party affiliation information," he added.
In August, Twitter removed 770 accounts engaging in coordinated behaviour which appeared to originate in Iran.
"Our automated detections continue to identify and challenge millions of potentially spammy and automated accounts per week. In the first half of September, we challenged an average of 9.4 million accounts each week," said Roth.
Twitter is also witnessing a decline in the average number of spam-related reports it receives from users each day -- from an average of approximately 17,000 per day in May to approximately 16,000 per day in September.
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Karnataka leads in AI: Minister Priyank Kharge at Impact Summit
Bengaluru (PTI): Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday highlighted the state’s leadership in AI and deep technology while engaging with global industry leaders and startups at a four-day summit held in New Delhi, officials said.
During the event, Priyank witnessed the signing of a strategic MoU between H Company and St John’s Medical College & Research Institute, Bengaluru, to pilot advanced enterprise AI for hospital operations and workflow automation, strengthening responsible AI in healthcare, the minister’s office said in a statement here.
Speaking on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit, the minister said Karnataka is ahead of the curve in AI.
“We are already home to leading global AI players such as Harvey AI and Anthropic, and The Walt Disney Company is expanding its AI network in Bengaluru,” he added.
Noting Bengaluru’s position among the top global cities for AI talent, he added, “Under our DeepTech Decade, we are supporting startups with grants of up to Rs 1 crore. We are engaging with global leaders and innovators to ensure responsible AI use, build the right skill sets, create strong incubators, and establish Centres of Excellence that can foster startups and strengthen e-governance.”
The minister also attended a roundtable organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), where discussions focused on strengthening technology collaboration, investment partnerships, and innovation-led growth between Karnataka and global enterprises.
He met Timo Harakka, Member of Parliament of Finland, to explore possibilities for collaboration between Karnataka and Finland in AI and deep-tech sectors, including joint research, innovation partnerships, and startup exchanges.
The Karnataka IT Minister also visited the Indian Army showcase at the summit, which featured advanced AI-driven defence and strategic technology applications, highlighting the role of AI in national security and modernisation efforts.
He toured the Karnataka Pavilion and the ArtPark Pavilion, interacting with founders and teams from Karnataka’s innovation ecosystem and reviewing emerging AI and deep-tech solutions, the statement added.
