A Senate aide has confirmed that the executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google will be testifying before the US Senate Intelligence Committee that is investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential elections.
The executives are due to stand before the committee on November 1 amid continuing discussions that Russian state-sponsored groups, such as the Internet Research Agency, were able to manufacture an atmosphere of divisiveness and controversy as well as spread fake news stories throughout the run-up to the elections in 2016.
The Senate committee recently got a warrant issued that lead to Facebook handing over the details of suspicious Russian accounts and ad campaigns that were supposedly designed to influence American voters. In addition to this news, the Department of Homeland Security also announced that the election systems in 21 different states had been hacked to varying degrees during the 2016 presidential election cycle.
The investigations from the Senate Intelligence Committee have already been going on for some time but the role that social media played in these allegations are a central theme. The testimonies of these major executives will undoubtedly be of key significance in the ultimate direction that this investigation takes.
Source: Business Insider |House of Representatives image via Shutterstock