September 28, 2022
Meta Platforms announced the elimination of the first known China-based influence, which aimed to bombard users in the United States with political content on both flanks of controversial issues such as abortion and gun rights ahead of November’s midterm elections.
According to the report, fake accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were targeted, and the finding was important because it suggested a shift toward more direct interference in U.S. domestic politics compared to previous known Chinese propaganda efforts.
The Chinese fake accounts pretended to be liberal and conservative Americans from various states. Since November 2021, they have been posting political memes and lurking in the comment sections of posts by public figures. The same network also created fake accounts posing as Czech citizens to criticize the Czech government’s approach to China.
Meta also claimed to have uncovered the largest and most complicated operation in Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine war, targeting users in Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. The operation spent more than $100,000 on ads that spread pro-Russian messages through a network of more than 60 websites that imitated credible news organizations, as well as about 4,000 social media accounts and petitions on sites like Avaaz.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said his office was particularly concerned about intelligence reports about foreign government interference in elections.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
