---
title: "Twitter Says China Used Fake Accounts to Manipulate Hong Kong"
description: "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."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-08-19-twitter-says-china-used-fake-accounts-to-manipulate-hong-kong/"
published: "2019-08-19T20:58:36"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 93
---

# 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.

By Bloomberg · Published 19 August 2019, 22:58 SAST

## Content

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](https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/information_operations_directed_at_Hong_Kong.html). “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.