TikTok has taken down 284 accounts believed to be linked to a Chinese disinformation campaign, following revelations brought forward by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, according to a report by The Guardian.
Meta’s investigation led to the shutdown of nearly 9,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts, groups, and pages linked to a Chinese political spam network that targeted users globally.
(Photo : OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
In this photo illustration the social media application logo for TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in front of a US flag and Chinese flag background in Washington, DC, on March 16, 2023.
Meta’s Probe
Meta’s probe exposed this influence operation across more than 50 online platforms and forums, spanning YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, Medium, Blogspot, Livejournal, and X (formerly Twitter), in addition to Instagram and Facebook.
The operation’s content predominantly included positive narratives about China and the Xinjiang province while criticizing the US, Western foreign policies, and critics of the Chinese government.
TikTok, in response to the revelations, removed the 284 accounts that were part of this disinformation campaign. Videos on TikTok linked to this campaign concentrated on addressing reports of forced labor in Xinjiang and matters related to Taiwan. Some of these videos garnered substantial views, with several reaching tens of thousands, as per The Guardian’s report.
Meta’s investigation, identified as the “largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world,” resulted in the removal of more than 7,700 Facebook accounts and 930 Facebook pages.
This extensive network was reportedly designed to promote favorable narratives about China, specifically concerning the Xinjiang region, and to spread fabricated information regarding the US and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The roots of Meta’s investigation trace back to 2022, when it discovered a similar disinformation operation targeting a human rights NGO. Following this, Meta intensified its efforts to uncover the Chinese influence operation.
The accounts involved in the campaign demonstrated a preference for praising China’s policies over criticizing the US and Western foreign policies.
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Spamouflage Campaign
Ben Nimmo, responsible for global threat intelligence at Meta, characterized this campaign as the “largest, though unsuccessful, and most prolific covert influence operation that we know of in the world today.”
Named the “Spamouflage” campaign, this operation utilized various platforms beyond Facebook, encompassing YouTube, Reddit, Quora, Medium, and X. The campaign’s strategy underscored its worldwide reach, engaging audiences in Taiwan, the US, Australia, Britain, Japan, and Chinese-speaking populations.
Similar to Russia’s “troll factories,” the Chinese operation employed a tactic known as “Spamouflage,” which involved purchasing accounts from commercial spam operators in different countries to disseminate political messages. This approach often involved abrupt shifts in the content of posts, transitioning from unrelated subjects to political discourse.
Notably, the Chinese and Russian operations exhibited similar behavior patterns, suggesting potential mutual influences in their state-sponsored endeavors. Despite its considerable scale, the Spamouflage campaign encountered difficulties breaking out of its established informational framework, according to the investigation.
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