Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Wednesday that it had taken down a major China-based disinformation network that was spreading content about sensitive political issues in Europe and the United States. Meta said it has removed more than 100 Facebook pages, profiles and Instagram accounts linked to this disinformation network, which also operates on other platforms like YouTube, Telegram and Twitter, accusing them of violating its policies.
Fifty other accounts linked to another network based in China were also deleted, the American company said in its quarterly report on adverse threats. “These latest networks have experimented with a range of tactics we have never seen before in China-based operations,” the report said. “Recent behaviors include creating a front media company in the West, hiring freelance writers around the world, offering to recruit protesters and co-opting an NGO in Africa,” he added. ‘business.
Although Meta has taken down some accounts, much of the content still remains online, including on social network Twitter, owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Messages broadcast range from content focused on Europe, issues that divide the United States, including police brutality, crime and LGBT rights, to posts that defend Beijing’s position on its politics in the western region of Xinjiang, where activists accuse authorities of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims in forced re-education camps.
Twitter and Facebook are officially blocked in mainland China, users must resort to banned VPNs to use their websites and apps. Russia has long been accused of operating “troll farms” to try to sway public opinion in the West, with China not seen as very advanced in this area. But Meta said the latest networks discovered on its platforms indicated that China-based operations were becoming increasingly sophisticated. Last month, US authorities also said they had indicted a group of agents from China’s Ministry of Public Security, claiming they had operated a network of social media accounts spreading pro-Beijing messages.
