Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced on Tuesday that it has removed thousands of accounts linked to Chinese security forces in what could be the largest covert influence operation on social networks worldwide.
The campaign promoted “positive information” about China and the province of Xinjiang, where the government has been accused of human rights abuses and forced labor by members of the Uyghur ethnic minority.
According to Goal, Other of the deleted accounts included articles criticizing the foreign policy of the United States and the West, as well as attacking journalists and researchers perceived as critical of the Chinese government.
The accounts spread similar content across multiple platforms, with erroneous titles such as: “US bombing of Nord Stream, first step in ‘European plan of destruction'”.
In total, Meta deleted 7,704 accounts, 954 pages (other types of accounts), and 15 Facebook groups, while closing 15 Instagram accounts.
“These (advertising) operations are big, but they’re gross, and we don’t see any real signs of them building an authentic audience on our platform or anywhere else on the internet,” Meta’s global threat intelligence leader told CNBC. , BenNimo.
According to Meta, the network was or is present in virtually all social networks, including Medium, Reddit, Tumblr, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter).
While it’s the largest disinformation campaign, it wasn’t the only one Meta pointed out in Tuesday’s report, as it also removed dozens of accounts associated with other covert campaigns targeting Turkey that violated its policies.
Source: DN
