Twitter closes thousands of fake news accounts worldwide
Twitter closes thousands of fake news accounts worldwide
Twitter is seeking to improve
understanding of how its platform is used by state actors to manipulate public
opinion
AFP•
Washington (AFP) - Twitter said
Friday it has closed down thousands of accounts across the world for spreading
fake news as well as pro-government propaganda, including in places like the
United Arab Emirates, China and Spain.
Accounts coming from China seeking to sow discord among
protesters in Hong Kong were closed down, as were accounts amplifying a
pro-Saudi message coming from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates directed at
Qatar and Yemen, Twitter said.
Fake news accounts were also suspended in Spain and Ecuador.
The information release is part of the company's push to improve
understanding of how its platform is used by state actors to manipulate public
opinion.
Twitter said they had identified 4,302 accounts based in China
"attempting to sow discord about the protest movement in Hong Kong."
This follows the identification in August of more than 200,000
fake accounts in China engaged in fueling public discord in Hong Kong.
The announcement follows Facebook's removing fake accounts based
in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE last month for posting misinformation about
regional hotspots including Libya, Sudan and Yemen.
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