China's Foreign Ministry Decries Twitter Arbitrarily Blocking Pro-Chinese User Accounts

Instead of blocking users who commend China's policies over state-sponsored propaganda Twitter should block those who disseminate criticism, as Beijing itself fell the biggest victim of misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2020) Instead of blocking users who commend China's policies over state-sponsored propaganda Twitter should block those who disseminate criticism, as Beijing itself fell the biggest victim of misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Twitter removed over 32,000 user accounts alleged in disseminating "state-linked information" with origins in China, Turkey and Russia. With regard to China, in particular, Twitter found 23,000 accounts engaged in spreading misinformation about events in Hong Kong and "geopolitical narratives favorable to" the Chinese Communist Party.

"If Twitter truly wants to take measures [against misinformation], it must block those accounts which defame and attack China. China has become the biggest victim of misinformation," Hua said at a press briefing.

According to the spokeswoman, Twitter is selective in blocking those accounts which commend, in particular, the way in which China has handled the coronavirus pandemic. Hua stressed that misinformation was defined as fake news and deliberately altered information, whereas China's efforts and progress in fighting COVID-19 have met recognition all over the world.

"After the coronavirus outbreak, many individuals and groups emerged in the world which defame and slander China," the spokeswoman said, adding "If Twitter takes measures against the so-called Chinese-linked misinformation, I wonder what it does with genuinely dishonest information stemming from the United States."

The diplomat further conveyed China's strong opposition to misinformation and the commitment to solidarity in countering fake news.

The US has repeatedly claimed, albeit with no evidence provided, that the coronavirus that caused deaths, lockdowns and economic standstill all around the world had in fact been developed in a lab in Wuhan, a Chinese city in the Hubei province from where the first reports of an abnormal respiratory disease came last December.

China has so far consistently denied the accusations, stressing that its policies were transparent throughout the outbreak.