Meta has removed thousands of Facebook and several Instagram accounts in an effort to disrupt a Chinese propaganda campaign.
Meta removed 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 Pages, 15 Groups, and 15 Instagram accounts in total, making it one of the largest networks of fake accounts ever discovered by the company.
According to the tech giant, the fake accounts tried to spread pro-China messages, including "positive commentary about China and its province Xinjiang and criticisms of the US, Western foreign policies, and critics of the Chinese government including journalists and researchers".
"We recently took down thousands of accounts and Pages that were part of the largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world. It targeted more than 50 apps, including Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, Medium, Blogspot, LiveJournal, VKontakte, Vimeo, and dozens of smaller platforms and forums," Meta said in a blogpost on Tuesday.
Meta also confirmed that it discovered evidence linking the fake accounts to a previously known pro-China influence operation that first surfaced in 2019, dubbed as "Spamouflage".
Despite the size of the effort, Meta claimed that the people behind the fake accounts were not particularly skilled or successful in their efforts to go viral.
"Spamouflage consistently struggled to reach beyond its own (fake) echo chamber. Many comments on Spamouflage posts that we have observed came from other Spamoflauge accounts trying to make it look like they were more popular than they were," Meta said.
The company also mentioned that this network targeted many regions globally, including Taiwan, the US, Australia, the UK, Japan, and global Chinese-speaking audiences.
Meanwhile, Meta rolled out additional transparency features on Threads, including labelling state-controlled media and showing additional information about accounts so that people can know, for example, if accounts may have changed their names.
‘Pahalgam incident deeply disturbing & tragic’: Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday termed the Pahalgam terror attack as disturbing & tragic and also condoled the victims and their families.
Congress finally deletes 'Gayab' post targeting PM Modi after outrage
Under fire from the BJP over its social media post targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress finally, on Tuesday, took down the controversial post.
Guterres calls EAM Jaishankar, Pak PM Sharif; stresses pursuing justice in Pahalgam terror attack
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the importance of pursuing justice in the Pahalgam terrorist attack while speaking with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shebaz Sharif, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
Congress organises ‘Save Constitution’ rallies across NE states
The opposition Congress has been organising ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ (Save Constitution) campaign in the northeastern states. Claiming that the Constitution is in danger under the BJP-led Central government, the opposition Congress held a massive rally in Agartala on Tuesday.
RSS chief Bhagwat meets PM Modi after security huddle: Signs of a hard-hitting response in the works
In a significant political development, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg on Tuesday evening.
What PM Modi's free hand to armed forces against terror means for cross-border action?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unambiguous message during a high-level security meeting - ‘India is determined to deliver a crushing blow to terrorism’ - marks more than just a strong statement of resolve.
Justice BR Gavai appointed as next Chief Justice of India
Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 29, 2019. Appointed as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003, he became a permanent Judge in November 2005.
Three more Bangladeshi nationals held in Tripura
The Tripura Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday apprehended three Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, for illegally entering India, officials said.