KAMPALA: Social media platform Twitter has said it has shut down 418 accounts in Uganda that were engaged in the inappropriate promotion of President Museveni.
According to Twitter, the fake accounts were engaged in coordinated activities that violated its policies.
“In most instances, accounts were suspended for various violations of our platform manipulation and spam policies,” Twitter said on Thursday.
The 418 accounts were part of 3,500 that were posting pro-government propaganda in six countries, including China and Russia, according to the international news agency AFP.
“We also removed a network of 50 accounts that attacked the civilian Libyan government and actors that support it, while voicing significant support for Russia’s geopolitical position in Libya and Syria,” Twitter is quoted as saying.
The banned accounts also include 276 that shared pro-government content in Mexico, and “277 Venezuelan accounts that amplified accounts, hashtags, and topics in support of the government and its official narratives.”
Twitter has faced criticism over failures to tackle misinformation on its platform as well as racist, sexist and, homophobic posts, among other forms of hate speech.
It also announced Thursday that it will launch a Twitter Moderation Research Consortium early next year, bringing together “experts from across academia, civil society, NGOs and journalism” to study possible improvements.
Twitter said it would not seek to influence the consortium’s findings.