Twitter records 10 mn tweets on US midterms

Twitter has recorded over 10 million tweets about voting since October 1 as the US midterm elections loom.

"This has already been the most tweeted-about US midterm election ever. Nearly 15,000 US users even have 'vote' in their display name," Bridget Coyne, Senior Public Policy Manager, Twitter, said in a blog post on Friday.

Coyne said over the last several months, the company has taken significant steps to safeguard the integrity of conversations surrounding the US elections by reducing the spread of disinformation, strengthening outreach to government stakeholders, and streamlining our enforcement processes.

"We are committed to serving the public conversation about elections on our platform," Twitter said.

The midterm elections were slated for November 6.

To date, Twitter has added nearly 1,000 election labels to candidates' profiles and partnered with local television stations to livestream 32 House, Senate and gubernatorial debates on Twitter.

In comparison to 2016, the number of people who Tweeted about #NationalVoterRegistrationDay has also doubled.

"Twitter is launching a wave of new #BeAVoter campaign initiatives to build on those efforts and encourage eligible voters to participate in next week's elections," said Coyne.

"We want every eligible person to #BeAVoter in this election, and believe these initiatives will provide a safe, healthy platform for everyone to join the #ElectionDay conversation on November 6," she added.

In July, it was reported that Twitter suspended more than 70 million fake accounts in May and June -- over 1 million accounts a day -- in a massive drive to clear out bots and trolls on the platform.

--IANS

na/ksk