Facebook Removes Fake Accounts Tied To China For Targeting Trump, Biden - Statement

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2020) Facebook said in a statement on Tuesday that it has removed two separate networks in China and in the Philippines for carrying out coordinated inauthentic behavior targeting US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, among others.

"We removed 155 accounts, eleven pages, nine groups and six Instagram accounts for violating our policy against foreign or government interference which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign or government entity," the statement said. "This activity originated in China and focused primarily on the Philippines and Southeast Asia more broadly, and also on the United States."

Facebook said the network was least focused on the United States, where it gained almost no following despite posting content both in support of and against Trump and Biden.

In Southeast Asia, where the network focused most of its activity, they posted in Chinese, Filipino and English about global news and current events, including China's interests in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, content supportive of President Rodrigo Duterte, the statement said.

The perpetrators in each case coordinated with one another and used fake accounts as a central part of their operations to mislead people about who they are and what they are doing, the statement also said.

"That was the basis for our action. When we investigate and remove these operations, we focus on behavior rather than content, no matter who's behind them, what they post, or whether they're foreign or domestic," the statement added.

Facebook has removed CIB activity from its platforms over the past three years and also shared its findings, according to the statement.