Twitter releases US election meddling data

Twitter is releasing all known accounts and posts related to "information operations" dating back to 2016, when it was first learned that foreign operators were using social media to meddle in US elections.

Twitter has already disclosed the account numbers, but is now releasing the actual tweets, images, video and other information.

The social media giant said on Wednesday that the data comprises more than 4,600 accounts and more than 10 million tweets, most affiliated with the Russia-linked Internet Research Agency and potentially linked to Iran.

Twitter says the earliest activity it found on its service from these accounts dates back to 2009.

Russia's IRA has been indicted by US special counsel Robert Mueller for its actions during the US presidential election.

The datasets are available for download on Twitter's "elections integrity" page.