X’s Sanctions Problems, Plus a “True the Vote” Update

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** CfA's February 16, 2024 Newsletter
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With your support, Campaign for Accountability is working to expose corruption and hold the powerful accountable.


** This Week's Updates:
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TTP Report: X Provides Premium Perks to Terrorist Groups and Other U.S-Sanctioned Entities
On Wednesday morning, CfA’s Tech Transparency Project (TTP) published a report ([link removed]) revealing that U.S.-sanctioned entities were receiving paid services from X, which could be a violation of sanctions law. Working from a database supplied by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), TTP identified 28 X Premium accounts that appeared to be operated by sanctioned entities, including the leaders of terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. All the accounts displayed either blue or gold checkmarks, meaning they were subscribed to X’s premium services. The two gold checkmarks belonged to “verified organizations” which could be paying X as much as thousands of dollars a year for special privileges: one was an Iranian state-controlled media outlet, and the other was a Russian bank that had been sanctioned after the invasion of Ukraine.

While social media companies are generally allowed ([link removed]) to platform sanctioned entities, X appears to have crossed a line by providing paid services to these organizations and individuals. TTP even found advertisements running alongside posts from the accounts, which raises the possibility that they were participating in X’s revenue-sharing program. According to OFAC, U.S. companies are forbidden from engaging in these types of transactions with sanctioned entities. Speaking to The Washington Post ([link removed]) about TTP’s report, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said X’s “noncompliance” was “further evidence that Treasury must immediately increase its enforcement posture with respect to the provision of online goods and services to sanctioned entities.” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said the company “must explain to
Congress how it plans to stop platforming terrorist leaders” and that Treasury “should investigate Twitter’s inexcusable financial involvement with known terrorists.”

TTP’s report was covered by The New York Times ([link removed]) , The Washington Post ([link removed]) , BBC ([link removed]) , The Hill ([link removed]) , and Rolling Stone Magazine ([link removed]) .
True the Vote Says it Can’t Back Up Claims of Election Fraud
On Wednesday, the election denial group True the Vote (TTV) told a judge ([link removed]) that it did not have evidence to support complaints filed with the Georgia Secretary of State in 2021, which claimed that thousands of voters had submitted fraudulent ballots in swing states during the 2020 election. Tapping into these conspiracy theories, TTV helped fuel an intimidation campaign against election workers and attempted to recruit ([link removed]) “poll watchers” from networks of U.S. military veterans. The group’s faulty research was also used as the basis for the film 2000 Mules, which was produced by right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza and described ([link removed]) by Donald Trump as “the greatest & most impactful documentary of our time.” When asked to share information
with investigators or defend its claims in court, though, TTV balked.

In 2023, CfA urged the IRS ([link removed]) to investigate TTV for improperly funneling money to senior employees of the organization, which operates as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3). CfA also filed a complaint ([link removed]) regarding illegal political activity undertaken by TTV, which declared itself a “partner” of the Georgia Republican Party in 2020.
Crypto Companies Buck Energy Use Oversight
On January 31^st, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced ([link removed]) that it would begin collecting data on the electricity consumption of cryptocurrency mining facilities, which use immense amounts of power ([link removed]) to perform calculations and turn a profit. Preliminary analysis from the agency suggests ([link removed].) that cryptocurrency mining represents 0.6% to 2.3% of all U.S. energy usage – a large share for an industry that employs roughly ([link removed]) 53,000 people across all crypto-related jobs in the United States; the agricultural sector, for context, consumes 4%
([link removed]) of the nation’s energy and employs an estimated 2.6 million ([link removed].) workers directly on farms. Cryptocurrency industry groups responded to the EIA’s announcement by accusing it of “federal overreach,” ([link removed]) and say they have been targeted for political reasons ([link removed]) . One of the agency’s primary concerns is the amount of strain these mining operations place on electricity grids, which may have to plan for extensive growth in the coming years.
In Texas, lucrative deals with the state’s grid operator have allowed crypto companies to collect millions of dollars when they shutter their facilities in response to demand surges. A TTP report ([link removed]) from 2022 investigated the arrangement, which incentivized the construction of more energy-guzzling crypto mines and left regular consumers on the hook.
What We're Reading
FTC Wants to Penalize Companies for Use of AI in Impersonation ([link removed])
Senate Judiciary Committee Has Yet to Subpoena Harlan Crow or Leonard Leo ([link removed])
6 takeaways as IRS chief takes heat from House panel ([link removed])


** Follow Our Work:
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We thank you for your continued support. Without people like you, our work would not be possible.

Here is how you can stay involved and help us accomplish our mission:
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Be on the lookout for more updates about our work in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again for signing up to be a part of CfA!

Sincerely,

Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director, Campaign for Accountability

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