Dailymaverick logo

Newsdeck

This article is more than 6 years old

Newsdeck

Twitter Says China Used Fake Accounts to Manipulate Hong Kong

Twitter Inc. found and deleted hundreds of accounts it said China used to sow political discord in Hong Kong, attempting to manipulate perspectives on the protest movement and calls for political change.
Twitter Says China Used Fake Accounts to Manipulate Hong Kong Demonstrators gather during a protest in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong on Aug.18, 2019. Photographer: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg

The company took down 936 accounts that originated within China.

“Based on our intensive investigations, we have reliable evidence to support that this is a coordinated state-backed operation,” the company said Monday in a blog post. “Overall, these accounts were deliberately and specifically attempting to sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement on the ground.”

Twitter said it also is going to stop accepting advertising from state-backed media worldwide, after finding propaganda messages that Chinese-run media paid to promote on its site.

Comments

Scroll down to load comments...