Goalthe parent company of Facebook and Instagramannounced that dismantled a major China-based disinformation networkwhich spread content on sensitive political issues on Europe and the United States.
Meta, in a quarterly report on threats released on Wednesday, claimed to have removed more than 100 Facebook pages, profiles and Instagram accounts linked to this disinformation network, which also operates on other platforms such as YouTube, Telegram and Twitter.
They also removed another 50 accounts linked to another China-based network, the US company said in its report.
“These latest networks have experimented with a number of tactics that we have never seen before in China-based operations,” the report noted.
“Recent behaviors include the creation of a front media company in the Westthe hiring of freelance writers around the world and the co-optation of an NGO in Africa”, he added.
Although Meta removed some accounts, much of the content remains online, including on the social network Twitter.
The messages conveyed range from content focused on Europe, topics that divide the United States, such as the police violence, crime and LGBT+ rights, to publications defending the Beijing regime’s position on its policy in the western region of Xinjiangwhere activists accuse the 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, and users must resort to prohibited VPN connections to use its websites and apps.
Russia has long been accused of operating “troll farms” in an attempt to influence public opinion in the West, and China did not consider itself very advanced in this area.
But Meta said the latest networks discovered on its platforms indicated that operations in China were becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Last month, US authorities also stated that they had indicted a group of agents from China’s Ministry of Public Security, alleging that they had operated a network of social media accounts that spread pro-Beijing messages.
(With information from AFP)
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Source-www.infobae.com