Twitter removes 30,000 accounts promoting state-backed propaganda from China, Russia and Turkey
A giant portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping is carried atop a float at a parade to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) - Credit: Getty Images
Twitter says it has removed more than 30,000 accounts from the platform which were being used to spread state-backed propaganda linked to China, Russia and Turkey.
It said a total of 32,242 accounts had been removed with more than 23,000 linked to China, and 1,152 linked to Russia.
The platform said the Chinese government had used their network to spread 'deceptive' claims about the political situation in Hong Kong.
According to Twitter's report, accounts linked to China were spreading 'geopolitical narratives favourable to the Communist Party of China (CCP), while continuing to push deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong'.
The network of misinformation also included around 150,000 'amplifier accounts', which Twitter said were used to inflate interactions on the content posted by the main accounts, falsely creating an impression of organic interest in its posts.
You may also want to watch:
However, Twitter confirmed it had chosen not to remove the amplifier accounts as they were not a part of the core network of fake accounts.
A separate network linked to Russia has also been removed, made up of 1,152 accounts which were removed for 'amplifying content in an inauthentic, coordinated manner for political ends'.
Most Read
- 1 Betty Boothroyd delivers scathing assessment of Boris Johnson's government
- 2 House of Lords defies No 10 and votes to heavily defeat Boris Johnson's Brexit bill
- 3 Boris Johnson 'plans to resign' in six months because he can't live on £150k salary
- 4 ERG MP says Boris Johnson should consider cutting ties with Church of England following Brexit row
- 5 Diane Abbott accuses Keir Starmer of having 'other motives' while shadow Brexit secretary
- 6 Leaked memo exposes government fears over rise in support for Scottish independence
- 7 Labour MP calls Dan Wootton a 'complete and utter nutcase' following Covid-19 herd immunity comment
- 8 Labour MP lashes out at Boris Johnson over £150k wage complaint during fiery debate on Manchester lockdown
- 9 Government told to publish impact assessments for Boris Johnson's 'Narnia' deal with EU
- 10 Dominic Cummings dodges £50k in unpaid taxes after decision to 'write off' charges
According to Twitter, the accounts were promoting President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and attacking political dissidents.
The third network, targeting audiences in Turkey, included more than 7,000 accounts which were being used to promote positive political narratives about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The social media giant said it hoped to host an online conference later in the summer, bringing together experts, industry and government to discuss more collaboration in disrupting such networks in the future.
'Ultimately our goal is to serve the public conversation, remove bad faith actors, and to advance public understanding of these critical topics,' Twitter said.
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.