Tests by The Telegraph have shown that pro-government Russian Twitter accounts are once again being suggested and displayed more frequently in the feed.
The findings suggest that restrictions aimed at reducing the Russian state’s social media reach have been eased.
Russia’s pro-government accounts have attracted attention in the past for aggressive rhetoric centered on the war of aggression in Ukraine.
Twitter is again showing more and more accounts linked to the Kremlin. Last year, Kremlin-related accounts were curtailed following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Analysis by The Telegraph showed that accounts from Putin, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in the UK appear in Twitter’s search results, timeline and recommendations.
The findings suggest that restrictions aimed at reducing the Russian state’s social media reach have been eased. When Twitter was still a public company run by former CEO Parag Agrawal, gave an explanationwhich laid down plans to suppress Russian misinformation.
“We will not expand or endorse government accounts of states that restrict access to free information and are engaged in armed conflicts between states – whether Twitter is blocked in that country or not,” it said at the time. However, tests by The Telegraph suggest that this policy has now changed.
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The newspaper created a new account and found that Russian state pages appeared in the algorithm-driven For You Feed, despite not following them. They also reportedly showed up in certain search results and as recommended accounts to follow.
“Unlikely that changes were made accidentally”
A former Twitter executive, who was not named, told The Telegraph it was likely that there had been a change in policy for re-boosting these accounts. “It would be extremely unlikely that this change was made accidentally or without the knowledge and direction of company employees,” he added.
Russia’s pro-government accounts have attracted attention in the past for aggressive rhetoric centered on the war of aggression in Ukraine. This tweet from the Russian Embassy in the UK calling for a “humiliating death” for Ukrainian POWs is also restricted.
Twitter had further restricted the reach of pro-government media since 2020 by not recommending them to users and labeling them as pro-government. Elon Musk frequently referenced free speech during his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, condemning the company’s previous policy of banning accounts that some saw as harmful. Most recently, the second richest man in the world reactivated Donald Trump’s Twitter account in November.
Musk came under fire for controversial tweets outlining a peace plan that would see Ukraine give up much of the territory occupied by Russia after its invasion. However, its Starlink satellite internet service has proven helpful in defending Ukraine. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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This article was translated from English by Klemens Handke. You can find the original here.