PROPAGANDA: Twitter suspends 170,000 ‘China-backed accounts’

Social media giants, Twitter has yanked off no fewer than 170,000 accounts tied to a Beijing-backed influence operation that spread messages favourable only to the Chinese government.

Twitter says the accounts pushed ‘deceptive narratives’ on coronavirus pandemic, Taiwan and the protests in Hong Kong.

The company said on Friday that it suspended a core network of 23,750 highly active accounts, as well as a larger network of about 150,000 “amplifier” accounts used to boost the core accounts’ content.

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According to Twitter, the network was largely an echo chamber of fake accounts that spread “geopolitical narratives favourable” to the Communist Party, focusing on “deceptive narratives” about Hong Kong, the coronavirus pandemic, exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and Taiwan.

However, the accounts “failed to achieve considerable traction,” typically holding low follower accounts and low engagement, Twitter said in a statement.

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