Twitter says it found 201 accounts linked to the same Russian activity on Facebook (TWTR)

AP Images

Twitter informed US congressional investigators on Thursday that it found 201 fake accounts linked to the same Russian actors previously disclosed by Facebook.

The company disclosed the existence of the accounts in a blog post just hours after it met behind closed doors with the committee responsible for investigating Russian interference with US elections.

Twitter said all of the 201 known accounts linked to Russia have been suspended and that none were registered as advertisers on its platform. Facebook recently disclosed that Russian agents purchased roughly $100,000 worth of ads intended to spread divisive messages ahead of the 2016 presidential election. In addition, Facebook said it uncovered nearly 500 fake accounts linked to a Russian organization known for disseminating misinformation online.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Twitter bots linked to Russia have been spreading politically charged messages as recently as last weekend, promoting hashtags and trending topics like #standforouranthem and #takeaknee, following President Donald Trump's controversial NFL comments last Friday. Russia-linked bots also spread similar polarizing topics during the 2016 election, the report says.

Twitter said Thursday that it also showed committee investigators ads purchased by three accounts linked to the news organization Russia Today. A report earlier this year from the US intelligence community highlighted Russia Today's efforts to influence the American electoral process.

A recent study conducted by Oxford University's Computational Propaganda Project also found that tweets containing "low quality political information" and "ideologically extreme" junk news flooded 12 battleground states in the run-up to US Election Day.

Facebook, Google, and Twitter have been called by the Senate Intelligence Committee to testify at a November 1 public hearing about Russia's use of social media to influence US elections.

NOW WATCH: Explorers snuck into a Russian military base and captured footage of abandoned space shuttles