Democracy Dies in Darkness

Facebook, Google and Twitter testified on Capitol Hill. Here’s what they said.

October 31, 2017 at 5:07 p.m. EDT
Representatives for Facebook, Twitter and Google testified on Oct. 31 about Russian efforts to spread disinformation during the 2016 campaign. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/TWP)

Lawyers from Facebook, Google and Twitter are testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon amid mounting political pressure to fully investigate Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and reveal publicly what they find.

It is a rare moment in the political spotlight for companies that, despite large lobbying teams in Washington, generally seek to avoid such public and potentially unpredictable confrontations. A growing number of lawmakers have expressed concern in recent weeks about the Russian online influence campaign and are vowing both to expose what happened and work to prevent a recurrence, through legislation if necessary.