Twitter, Facebook accuse China of using fake accounts to undermine Hong Kong protests
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
January 27, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2023
Twitter, Facebook accuse China of using fake accounts to undermine Hong Kong protests

World+Biz

Reuters
20 August, 2019, 08:25 am
Last modified: 20 August, 2019, 08:30 am

Related News

  • Elon Musk now 'Mr. Tweet' on Twitter
  • Meta says Trump to be allowed back on Facebook, Instagram
  • Twitter faces legal complaint in Germany over anti-Semitic content
  • Twitter account of Indian actress Kangana Ranaut restored after two-year ban
  • Elon Musk: Tweets about taking Tesla private weren't fraud

Twitter, Facebook accuse China of using fake accounts to undermine Hong Kong protests

In examples provided by Facebook, posts described the protesters as cockroaches who “refused to show their faces.”

Reuters
20 August, 2019, 08:25 am
Last modified: 20 August, 2019, 08:30 am
Twitter, Facebook accuse China of using fake accounts to undermine Hong Kong protests

Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc said on Monday they had dismantled a state-backed social media campaign originating in mainland China that sought to undermine protests in Hong Kong.

Twitter said it suspended 936 accounts and the operations appeared to be a coordinated state-backed effort originating in China. It said these accounts were just the most active portions of this campaign and that a “larger, spammy network” of approximately 200,000 accounts had been proactively suspended before they were substantially active.

Facebook said it had removed accounts and pages from a small network after a tip from Twitter. It said that its investigation found links to individuals associated with the Chinese government.

The Hong Kong protests, which have presented one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012, began in June as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would allow suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts. They have since swelled into wider calls for democracy.

Social media companies globally are under pressure to stem illicit political influence campaigns online, especially ahead of the US election in November 2020. A 22-month U.S. investigation concluded Russia interfered in a “sweeping and systematic fashion” in the 2016 US election to help Donald Trump win the presidency.

The Chinese embassy in Washington and the US State Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Twitter in a blog post said the accounts undermined the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement in Hong Kong. 

Examples of posts provided by Twitter included a tweet from a user with photos of protesters storming Hong Kong’s Legislative Council building, which asked: “Are these people who smashed the Legco crazy or taking benefits from the bad guys? It’s a complete violent behavior, we don’t want you radical people in Hong Kong. Just get out of here!”

In examples provided by Facebook, posts described the protesters as cockroaches who “refused to show their faces.”

Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher told reporters that the bulk of the Facebook accounts were created in 2018.

Both Twitter and Facebook are blocked in mainland China by the government but available in Hong Kong.

TWITTER CHANGES AD POLICY

Twitter and Facebook have come under fire from users over showing ads from state-controlled media that criticized the Hong Kong protesters.

In response, Twitter said Monday it would no longer accept advertising from state-controlled news media. Twitter told Reuters the advertising change was not related to the suspended accounts. 

In the past week, China’s official Xinhua news agency and state broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN) paid to promote videos that portrayed the protests as violent and said Hong Kong citizens wanted the demonstrations to end, according to Twitter’s Ads Transparency Center.

Twitter said it did not have data on how much revenue it generates from state-controlled media advertising.

Many countries including the United States do not have clear standards on state media’s purchase of online advertising.

Total digital ad spending in Hong Kong will grow 11% to reach $786.1 million in 2019, according to projections by US digital market data analyst eMarketer.

Alphabet Inc’s YouTube video service told Reuters in June that state-owned media companies maintained the same privileges as any other user, including the ability to run ads in accordance with its rules. YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday on whether it had detected inauthentic content related to protests in Hong Kong.

In a tweet on Sunday, China’s influential state-run tabloid, The Global Times, hailed the response of Chinese “netizens” to the protests, saying: “Chinese netizens’ power! Amid escalating protests in Hong Kong, Chinese netizens on Saturday swept Facebook and Instagram to denounce secessionist posts and show support for Hong Kong police.”

About 98% of social network users in Hong Kong, or 4.7 million people, will log into Facebook at least once a month in 2019, according to eMarketer projections, while 9.4% of social network users will use Twitter.

Shares of Facebook rose 1.3% and Twitter rose 2.8%.

Top News

Twitter / Facebook / Hong Kong Protest

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Manufacturers feel the pinch as consumers tighten belt
    Manufacturers feel the pinch as consumers tighten belt
  • Sugar turning bitter!
    Sugar turning bitter!
  • Island hopping in Bangladesh?
    Island hopping in Bangladesh?

MOST VIEWED

  • A woman on a mobility scooter drives past a mural praising the NHS (National Health Service) amidst the continuation of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, London, Britain, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
    Hundreds of thousands of UK healthcare workers balloted for strikes
  • Picture: Collected
    Kremlin rules out any talks between Zelensky and Putin
  • Chief Executive of oil producer Rosneft Igor Sechin attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia February 15, 2021. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo
    Russia's Sechin says Taiwan will return to China 'on schedule'
  • FILE PHOTO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2022. Stefani Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    Israel urges NATO to confront Iran threat
  • China's and U.S.' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
    China says willing to communicate with US military but 'red lines' should be respected
  • A boy tries out a 12 gauge Smith and Wesson shotgun as people attend the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, US May 28, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
    Democratic senators call for ban on marketing guns to kids

Related News

  • Elon Musk now 'Mr. Tweet' on Twitter
  • Meta says Trump to be allowed back on Facebook, Instagram
  • Twitter faces legal complaint in Germany over anti-Semitic content
  • Twitter account of Indian actress Kangana Ranaut restored after two-year ban
  • Elon Musk: Tweets about taking Tesla private weren't fraud

Features

Island hopping in Bangladesh?

Island hopping in Bangladesh?

1h | Panorama
According to the CAB president Ghulam Rahman, one of the most common complaints of consumers is being deceived by sellers when it comes to the weight of goods. Photo: TBS

Has the Directorate improved consumer rights in Bangladesh?

2d | Panorama
A 2022 survey of 1,000 companies by professional services consultancy PwC found that between a sixth and a quarter had used AI in recruitment or employee retention in the past 12 months. Illustration: Bloomberg

AI is coming to your workplace. Is the world ready?

2d | Panorama
Edison Desdemona, the newly launched stellar project of Edison Real Estate, located at Bashundhara Residential Area. Photo: Courtesy

EDISON DESDEMONA: A creation like no other

2d | Habitat

More Videos from TBS

Kajol’s road paintings bring change in Gafargaon

Kajol’s road paintings bring change in Gafargaon

13h | TBS Stories
Carew & Company witnessed a remarkable growth

Carew & Company witnessed a remarkable growth

14h | TBS Stories
PCB recalls cricketers from BPL ahead of PSL

PCB recalls cricketers from BPL ahead of PSL

16h | TBS SPORTS
Why Misha Sawdagar became villain instead of a Hero?

Why Misha Sawdagar became villain instead of a Hero?

15h | TBS Entertainment

Most Read

1
Picture: Collected
Bangladesh

US Embassy condemns recent incidents of visa fraud

2
Four top bankers arrested in DSA case filed by S Alam group 
Bangladesh

Four top bankers arrested in DSA case filed by S Alam group 

3
Illustration: TBS
Banking

16 banks at risk of capital shortfall if top 3 borrowers default

4
Photo: Collected
Splash

Hansal Mehta responds as Twitter user calls him 'shameless' for making Faraaz

5
A frozen Beyond Burger plant-based patty. Photographer: AKIRA for Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Special

Fake meat was supposed to save the world. It became just another fad

6
Representational Image
Banking

Cash-strapped Islami, Al-Arafah and National turn to Sonali Bank for costly fund

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]