Is Twitter ready for the midterms?

A stunning whistleblower disclosure from Twitter's former head of security accuses the company of having a reactive approach to misinformation and platform manipulation, a disconnect between product and safety teams, content moderation shortcomings and a lack of controls to prevent foreign interference, all of which could raise questions about the company's ability to handle election-related threats ahead of the US midterms later this year.

These allegations are part of the broad, nearly 200-page disclosure that Peiter "Mudge" Zatko submitted to US regulators and lawmakers last month, which was first reported Tuesday by CNN and the Washington Post. The disclosure alleges that Twitter is rife with security and privacy vulnerabilities that put users, investors and even US national security at risk, and that Twitter executives have misled its board and regulators about its shortcomings. (Twitter has broadly defended itself against Zatko's allegations and claimed the disclosure contains "inconsistencies and inaccuracies.")

The disclosure sounds the alarm about a platform that has become a hub for information-sharing among influential voices — including media, celebrities, academics, government officials and world leaders — and which many people consider to be crucial to democracy. As such, the platform is also a key target for bad actors whom experts say could wreak havoc on elections and civic processes. Twitter has previously come under fire for enabling the spread of misinformation that led to real-world civic harms, including in the run-up to the January 6 Capitol insurrection.