"Spreading Fake News and Incitement" Meta Deletes Over 7,000 Chinese Accounts in Bulk

Used foreign languages such as Korean and English
but spelling is wrong and grammar is terrible... "Effect is minimal"

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, announced that it has identified and removed over 7,000 Chinese accounts that spread fake news and attempted to incite unrest using Korean, English, and other foreign languages.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 29th (local time), Meta revealed that it deleted 7,704 fake Facebook accounts, 954 Facebook pages, 15 Facebook groups, and 15 Instagram accounts linked to the Chinese government. Meta also explained that it detected hundreds of accounts related to the Chinese government on Instagram, WhatsApp, Blogspot, and other platforms.

The accounts discovered by Meta contained various pro-China messages written in foreign languages such as Korean, English, German, French, Russian, Thai, and Welsh, and were confirmed to have disseminated fake news.

Meta assessed that China appears to be learning Russia’s fake news incitement tactics but noted that these efforts did not generate significant resonance among internet users. Meta explained that the same messages were posted multiple times a day, and some posts contained spelling errors or poor grammar.

Ben Nimmo, Meta’s Head of Security, stated, "It seems that Chinese agents do not read or proofread the messages copied from elsewhere before posting them on accounts." However, he described China’s covert accounts as "the largest covert operation currently underway beneath the surface of the internet."

Over the past six years, Meta has uncovered fake accounts linked to the Chinese government in seven separate instances. Since it became known that Russia manipulated public opinion through fake Facebook accounts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Meta has been regularly cracking down on fake accounts.