{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-questions-facebook-twitter-google-on-russian-social-media-disinformation-campaigns-and-interference-in-2016-election", "King Questions Facebook, Twitter, Google on Russian Social Media Disinformation Campaigns and Interference in 2016 Election", "2017-11-01", "2017", "2017-11", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "King Questions Facebook, Twitter, Google on Russian Social Media Disinformation Campaigns and Interference in 2016 Election\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\u201cAs a society, we have to understand when we\u2019re being conned.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, November 1, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today questioned representatives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google about the Russian government\u2019s use of social media platforms to interfere in the 2016 election and the committee\u2019s ongoing investigation. During his questioning, Senator King underscored both the responsibility of social media companies to create clear guidelines to mitigate malign activity on their platforms and the importance of creating public awareness to further the responsible consumption of news by the American public.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201c[Information] warfare is the division of our society. And it\u2019s not only us \u2013 it\u2019s the entire West,\u201d said Senator King in his questioning. \u201cWe know that the Russians were involved in the French election [and] we know that they were involved in the German elections\u2026This is a sophisticated, worldwide strategy that applied here in 2016\u2026 [and] it\u2019s still happening\u2026We as a society, we have to understand when we\u2019re being conned.\u201d\r\nThe disinformation campaign from the Russian government is comprehensive and ongoing, with troll farms, bots, and fake accounts attempting to perpetuate fake news and sow discord among American citizens. Researchers at Columbia University report that posts from just six Russia-linked Facebook pages generated hundreds of millions of views during the 2016 U.S. election. During the hearing, Senator King also used a chart to demonstrate the hashtags Russian-linked accounts have recently used to further polarize discourse in the United States.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cThis is a service of the German Marshall Fund, called interestingly, Hamilton 68, that follows hashtags on a daily basis,\u201d Senator King said while presenting the chart that highlights hashtags employed by Russian linked accounts.\u201d And I just picked a day in September\u2026 We have #nfl, and then we have #boycottnfl, then we have #standforouranthem\u2026 [and] #takeaknee. In other words, they were tweeting on both sides of the NFL dispute in order to exacerbate the divisions. One witness this committee had said that their strategy is to take a crack in our society and turn it into a chasm \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what we saw in 2016, and my point here is that it hasn\u2019t stopped and it won\u2019t stop.\u201d\r\nSenator King has repeatedly emphasized that the Russians\u2019 efforts to interfere with our democratic process will not be limited to the 2016 election, and advocated for a transparent investigation by the Intelligence Committee in order to provide as much information as possible to the American people to help citizens identify examples of Russian tradecraft. He has been a strong proponent of allowing the American people to see and understand Russia\u2019s involvement in the election, saying that an educated and vigilant public is a critical line of defense against cyber-intrusions and attempts to influence our electoral process.\r\nAdditionally, last year Senator King authored a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act with Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) that requires the current Administration to develop options for deterring threats in cyberspace and determining what types of actions in cyberspace may warrant a military response. He has also introduced the\u00a0Securing Energy Infrastructure Act\u00a0with Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) bipartisan legislation that aims to protect America\u2019s electric grid from cyber-attacks.\r\nToday\u2019s witnesses before the Senate Intelligence Committee \u2013 Colin Stretch, Vice President and General Counsel of Facebook Inc., Sean Edgett, Acting General Counsel of Twitter Inc., and Kent Walker, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Google Inc. \u2013 represent companies that account for more than 70 percent of U.S. social media market. During the hearing, Senator King expressed disappointment that the General Counsels, and not the Chief Executive Officers, were testifying before Congress. According to Pew Research Center, 45 percent of U.S. adults get their news from Facebook, 18 percent get their news from YouTube, which is owned by Google, and 11 percent get their news from Twitter.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-questions-facebook-twitter-google-on-russian-social-media-disinformation-campaigns-and-interference-in-2016-election"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8152008522301912, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}