Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


As World Watches Hong Kong, Twitter and Facebook Take Down Accounts
Associated with Chinese Government

Michelle Quinn

   SAN FRANCISCO - After Hong Kong saw one of its biggest protests yet
   over the weekend, a social media war has broken out between China and
   U.S. technology companies over how Chinese state-sponsored media is
   using social media to spread misinformation and false news about the
   protesters.

   On Monday, Twitter and Facebook, which are both blocked in China but
   are freely available in Hong Kong, removed accounts they said
   originated in China that characterized the Hong Kong protesters as
   violent. Twitter said many of the accounts used virtual private
   networks, or VPNs, to access Twitter.

   Twitter said it took down [1]more than 900 accounts that were
   "deliberately and specifically attempting to sow political discord in
   Hong Kong." The company said it had evidence the accounts were part of
   "a coordinated state-backed operation."

   "All the accounts have been suspended for a range of violations of our
   platform manipulation policies," Twitter said in the blog.

   Facebook said it had been [2]tipped off by Twitter and had removed
   accounts and pages "associated with the Chinese government."

   The Hong Kong protests have shed light on the chasm between how news
   about Hong Kong is portrayed inside China and outside.

References

   1. https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/information_operations_directed_at_Hong_Kong.html
   2. https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/08/removing-cib-china/

.