X attributes more than 13,000 suspended accounts to Iranian, Russian and Chinese influence operations
X suspended more than 13,000 accounts it ties to Iranian, Russian and Chinese influence operations before the Nov. 3 midterms. SC Media reported that X did not provide specific evidence for the attributions.
The Watch · Security desk
X says it suspended more than 13,000 accounts, tied to three suspected influence operations linked to Iran, Russia and China. In 2021, Twitter, as X was then known, said it suspended 238 accounts purportedly operating from Iran.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts X suspended, more than | 13,000 accounts | 16 | |
| Suspected operations | 3 operations | Linked to Iran, Russia and China | 1 |
| Accounts purportedly from Iran | 238 accounts | Suspended by Twitter in 2021 | 12 |
What happened
- X said the networks used fake accounts to publish and amplify political content aimed at candidates and public figures across the political spectrum.
- X said it found the accounts through proactive sweeps and investigations under its rules against spam and coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
- Its midterm rules ban misleading information about how, when or where to vote, turnout suppression, and voter intimidation, including calls for violence near polling stations.
- The week before, OpenAI said it had taken down two alleged Russian and Iranian influence operations that used ChatGPT to invent personas posing as journalists.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint With no specific evidence supplied, researchers and campaigns cannot check which country ran which network, so the Iran, Russia and China labels rest on X's word.
- Who has to decide decision Campaigns and election offices that see false voting information on X have a defined route: the civic integrity report, a community-note request, and a label in urgent cases at X's discretion.
- What it sets up precedent The Cyber Express said the X and OpenAI actions show foreign influence efforts now spread across social networks and AI tools, so any one platform's takedown count covers part of the picture.
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No software vulnerability is involved, so there is nothing to patch. The comparison that gives the count its scale is Twitter's 2021 action, when it said it had suspended 238 accounts purportedly operating from Iran [12]. X's new figure covers three suspected operations [1], and 13,000 divided by 238 is roughly 55 [16]. The comparison is loose, since the earlier action involved one country.
X announced the suspensions on Wednesday [5]. "Our job is to keep that conversation authentic, open, and safe," X Global Government Affairs said in a statement on the suspensions [15].
SC Media said X uses Community Notes, a crowdsourced feature, alongside its moderation efforts to label policy-violating posts [13]. It tied that reliance to significant layoffs and departures from X's content moderation teams after Elon Musk's acquisition [14]. The sweeps that produced the 13,000 suspensions show X can still find fake accounts in volume [1][4]. In our view they say little about how fast a false voting claim from a real account gets labeled. Neither source reports label times or removal counts for individual voting-information posts.
SC Media noted that foreign influence campaigns are not limited to US elections, and that MI5 previously said Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum [9]. According to The Cyber Express, one of the two operations OpenAI disrupted a week before X's announcement also ran a "think-tank" that covertly spread anti-Ukraine propaganda [11].
What to watch
- Whether X publishes account lists or technical indicators behind the Iran, Russia and China attributions.
- Whether X announces further suspensions or election-rule enforcement figures before the Nov. 3 vote.
- Whether other platforms or AI providers publish takedowns that link to the same networks OpenAI and X described.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence35
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives55
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
X suspended more than 13,000 accounts tied to three suspected foreign influence operations linked to Iran, Russia and China.
- [2]
The U.S. midterm elections are scheduled for Nov. 3, and X's announcement precedes them.
- [3]
X said the networks used fake accounts to publish and amplify political content aimed at candidates and public figures across the political spectrum.
- [4]
X said it detected the accounts through proactive sweeps and investigations carried out under its rules against spam and coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
- [5]
X announced the suspensions on Wednesday while outlining its plans for the Nov. 3 US midterm elections.
- [6]
X's midterm rules ban misleading information about how, when or where to vote, and cover attempts to suppress voter turnout and voter intimidation, including calls for violence near polling stations.
- [7]
Users who see questionable election-related posts can report them through the civic integrity option and request a community note; in urgent cases X said it may also label posts that break its election rules.
- [8]
The actions by X and OpenAI show that foreign influence efforts are now spread across several technology platforms, from social media networks to AI tools, as the US midterms draw closer.
- [9]
SC Media noted that foreign influence campaigns are not limited to US elections, and that MI5 previously stated Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
- [10]
A week before X's announcement, OpenAI said it had shut down two alleged influence operations from Russia and Iran that used ChatGPT to create fake journalist personas.
- [11]
One of the two operations OpenAI disrupted also ran a think-tank that covertly spread anti-Ukraine propaganda.
- [12]
In 2021, Twitter, as X was then known, said it had suspended 238 accounts purportedly operating from Iran.
- [13]
X uses a crowdsourced feature called Community Notes, alongside its moderation efforts, to label policy-violating posts.
- [14]
X's reliance on Community Notes comes after significant layoffs and departures from its content moderation teams following Elon Musk's acquisition.
- [15]
X Global Government Affairs said in a statement on the suspensions: "Our job is to keep that conversation authentic, open, and safe."
- [16]
X's count of more than 13,000 accounts is roughly 55 times Twitter's 2021 suspension of 238 accounts.
- [17]
X did not provide specific evidence for its attributions of the accounts to Iran, Russia and China.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- scworld.comX removes thousands of accounts linked to foreign influence operations
1 article · October 16, 2026
- thecyberexpress.comX Removes 13,000 Fake Accounts Ahead of US Midterm Elections
1 article · October 14, 2026