Midterm: Meta (Facebook) takes down a Chinese propaganda operation

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, claims to have taken down a Chinese-led propaganda operation intended to reach American voters ahead of the November election.

According to a report by Meta, several fake accounts of Chinese origin spread biased attacks among U.S. voters. According to the company, this Chinese interference took place between November 2021 and September 2022 and used fake accounts on the social networks Facebook, Instagram and also Twitter (Meta's competitor). The accounts spread biased messages on controversial issues such as abortion, the right to bear arms or the Covid pandemic.

Apparently, the Chinese influence network was small and did not attract many followers. Still, according to the tech giant, the discovery is significant because it signals a shift toward more direct interference in U.S. domestic politics compared to previously known Chinese propaganda efforts.

"The Chinese operations that we've taken down before were primarily talking from the United States to the world, particularly in South Asia, and not to Americans about themselves," Meta's head of global threat intelligence, Ben Nimmo, said at a press briefing picked up by Reuters.

CIB Report China Russia Sept 2022-1-1 by VozMedia on Scribd

Concern about interference in social networks

According to Meta's report, the fake Chinese accounts were posing as both progressive and conservative Americans in different states. They posted political memes and intervened in the comments of public figures' publications.

Both Meta and Twitter reported the removal of all these accounts. According to the social media giant, the company does not have enough evidence to say who was behind this activity in China.

Asked about Meta's findings at a press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland said his office was "very concerned" about intelligence reports of election interference by foreign governments "beginning some time ago and continuing to the present."

Russian activity in social networks

The tech giant also said it had intercepted the largest and most complex Russia-based operation since the start of the war in Ukraine, describing it as an extensive network of more than 60 websites posing as legitimate news organizations, along with some 4,000 social networking accounts.

According to Meta, that operation primarily targeted users in Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine and the United Kingdom and spent more than $100,000 on ads promoting pro-Russian messages.