Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen speaks to attendees during the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity Summit in Manhattan, New York, U.S., July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen commended Facebook on Tuesday for taking action to interrupt a political influence campaign on its site and said it showed the company was taking election security seriously.

“This is a very good news story because it’s showing that Facebook is taking this very seriously, so they should be commended for what they did today,” she said in an interview with Fox News. “It also shows that the threat is very real and Americans need to know that.”

“Russians and other nation states are absolutely attempting to manipulate us,” Nielsen said.