Ahead of 2019 polls, Twitter forms internal team in India to uphold electoral integrity

Microblogging platform Twitter Thursday said it has formed an internal, cross-functional group to lead “electoral integrity work” in India that will proactively support partner escalations, and identify potential threats from malicious actors. The US-based company, which has been facing heat over allegations of political bias in India, said its teams work closely with political parties across the spectrum to train them on using Twitter to best engage with their constituents. “Similar to the model put in place for other recent elections around the world such as the US, Brazil, and Mexico, Twitter has formed an internal, cross functional elections group to lead electoral integrity work in India from now through polling day,” Twitter said in a statement.

Using proprietary-built internal tools, the team proactively protects trends, supports partner escalations, and identifies potential threats from malicious actors, it added. Twitter has been summoned by the parliamentary panel on information technology to appear before it on February 25. The panel had decided to call senior Twitter officials against the backdrop of growing concerns about safeguarding citizens’ data privacy and the possibility that social media could be used to interfere in elections.