Facebook removes over 150 fake accounts from China

Facebook on Tuesday, 22nd of September announced that it has recently shut down over 150 fake accounts that were being run from China, including accounts posting about November’s US presidential election.

Facebook in its official statement said, "We removed 155 accounts, eleven pages, nine groups and six Instagram accounts for violating our policy against foreign or government interference which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign or government entity."

Also Read: Facebook accused of spying on Instagram users

"This activity originated in China and focused primarily on the Philippines and Southeast Asia more broadly, and also on the United States."

According to a report by CNN, Facebook said that the scale of the operation was small, but it is the first time the company has made public details about an operation that is found to be run from China that had been posting about the US election.

Facebook did not say if the accounts were tied to the Chinese government, only that the accounts were run from China's Fujian province. The company did point out, however, that the accounts had been posting about "Beijing's interests in the South China Sea."

Gleicher stressed that most of the activity focused on South East Asia and only a very small amount of activity focused on the 2020 election.

Readers like you make Inside Northeast’s work possible

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:                                                                       

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast.