WASHINGTON: Top executives at Facebook and Twitter have agreed to testify at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in September as part of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections, a person briefed on the matter said on Thursday.
The source confirmed a BuzzFeed report that Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will attend the hearing. The person requested anonymity because the roster has not been finalized.
The office of Senator Richard Burr, who chairs the Intelligence Committee, confirmed comments he made to BuzzFeed that he had invited Facebook, Twitter and Google parent Alphabet Inc. to testify in early September.
Representatives for all three companies declined to comment.
In February, US intelligence agencies warned that Russia will try to interfere in the 2018 US mid-term elections by using social media to spread propaganda and misleading reports, much as it did in the 2016 campaign.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Russia and other foreign entities were likely to attack US and European elections this year and beyond, adding that Moscow believes similar efforts successfully undermined US democracy two years ago.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow interfered to sway the vote toward Donald Trump for a presidential election victory in November 2016, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s campaign worked with the Russians. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied this.
Facebook reported that 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political content on its platform over a two-year period.
On Tuesday, Facebook officials said the company is using a range of techniques including artificial intelligence to counter Russian operatives or others who use deceptive tactics and false information to manipulate public opinion.
The officials told reporters in a telephone briefing they expected to find such efforts on the social network ahead of the US mid-term elections in November, but declined to disclose whether they have already uncovered any such operations.
Top Facebook, Twitter execs to testify in US election meddling investigation
Top Facebook, Twitter execs to testify in US election meddling investigation
- Top executives at Facebook and Twitter have agreed to testify at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in September
- Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will attend the hearing
‘Tehran’ producer Dana Eden found dead in Athens hotel room
- Greek police say death being treated as suicide
DUBAI: Dana Eden, a producer of the Israeli thriller series “Tehran,” was found dead in her hotel room in Athens on Sunday, according to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.
The 52-year-old was reportedly in Greece for the filming of the show’s fourth season, which stars Niv Sultan, Shaun Toub, and Hugh Laurie.
Greek police said that the cause of death had not been officially confirmed but that the case was being treated as a suicide based on available evidence and witness testimony, according to media reports.
Eden co-led the production company Donna and Shula Productions with showrunner Shula Spiegel.
In a statement issued Monday, the company said that “the rumors about criminal death or about a national background are not true and are not grounded,” and urged the media and public to “behave responsibly and sensibly” and “refrain from publishing unverified assumptions.
“It’s a moment of great pain for the family, friends and colleagues. We ask to preserve Dana’s dignity and the privacy of her dears,” the statement added.
