X has revealed that it suspended around 800 million accounts within a 12-month period as part of a major effort to combat spam, bot activity and coordinated manipulation campaigns on the platform. The disclosure was made during a briefing with lawmakers in the United Kingdom, where the company discussed its ongoing battle against inauthentic activity.
According to the company, the accounts were removed for violating rules related to platform manipulation and spam. These violations typically involve bulk or disruptive behaviour designed to mislead users or interfere with normal activity on the platform.
State-backed Networks Among the Major Concerns
X stated that many of these accounts were part of large-scale coordinated campaigns aimed at spreading misleading content or influencing public conversations. Officials noted that some of the manipulation efforts were linked to state-backed actors.
Among the most active sources of these campaigns were reportedly Russia, Iran, and China, which have all been associated with attempts to spread narratives or influence discussions on the platform. Company representatives explained that networks of fake accounts are often created daily in attempts to flood the platform with coordinated messages or spam content.
Ongoing Effort To Reduce Manipulation and Misinformation
X defines manipulative accounts as those that engage in aggressive or repetitive activity intended to disrupt the user experience or mislead others. Spam activity typically involves repeated unsolicited actions such as mass posting or automated messaging.
Executives said the platform remains engaged in a constant effort to identify and remove such networks. Even after the large-scale suspensions, the company believes most remaining accounts on the platform are authentic users rather than bots.
Platform Continues Facing Moderation Scrutiny
The announcement comes as X continues to face scrutiny over its approach to content moderation since the platform was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022. Critics have argued that changes to moderation policies may have allowed misinformation or spam to spread more easily on the platform. At the same time, X maintains that large-scale enforcement actions such as the removal of hundreds of millions of accounts demonstrate its commitment to combating abuse and maintaining the integrity of conversations online.
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