Google, Facebook and Others Broaden Group to Secure U.S. Election

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook, Google and different main tech firms stated on Wednesday that that they had added new companions and met with authorities companies of their efforts to safe the November election.

The group, which is searching for to stop the sort of on-line meddling and international interference that sullied the 2016 presidential election, beforehand consisted of a number of the giant social media companies, together with Twitter and Microsoft as well as to Facebook and Google. Among the brand new members is the Wikimedia Foundation.

The group met on Wednesday with representatives from companies just like the F.B.I., the Office of the director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security to share insights about disinformation campaigns and rising misleading habits throughout their providers.

Discussions between the tech firms and authorities companies have occurred periodically over the previous 4 years. While a number of the firms have made a follow of sharing leads about disinformation campaigns and different election threats, the efforts have been haphazard. The effort has broadened because the November election approaches, and the tech firms and companies have tried to coordinate extra steadily.

“In preparation for the upcoming election, we regularly meet to discuss trends with U.S. government agencies tasked with protecting the integrity of the election,” a spokesman for the group stated in an announcement. “For the past several years, we have worked closely to counter information operations across our platforms.”

The group emerged from meetings that began between the tech companies and government agencies last fall. The companies have since taken action to ward off threats in elections around the world. Facebook, for instance, has monitored election behavior in Brazil, Mexico, Germany and France. Last year, the social network said it was strengthening how it verified which groups and people placed political advertising on its site.

Several social media companies have reported an increase in disinformation efforts as the election approaches. Last month, Twitter removed thousands of accounts that promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory. This week, NBC News reported that millions of QAnon conspiracy theory adherents were hidden in private groups and pages throughout Facebook.