Meta on Tuesday said it purged thousands of Facebook accounts that were part of a widespread online Chinese spam operation trying to covertly boost China and criticize the West.
The campaign, which became known as "Spamouflage", was active across more than 50 platforms and forums including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter, according to a Meta threat report.
"We assess that it's the largest, though unsuccessful, and most prolific covert influence operation that we know of in the world today," said Meta Global Threat Intelligence Lead Ben Nimmo.
"And we've been able to link Spamouflage to individuals associated with Chinese law enforcement."
More that 7,700 Facebook accounts along with 15 Instagram accounts were jettisoned in what Meta described as the biggest ever single takedown action at the tech giant's platforms.
"For the first time we've been able to tie these many clusters together to confirm that they all go to one operation," Nimmo said.
The network typically posted praise for China and its Xinjiang province and criticisms of the United States, Western foreign policies, and critics of the Chinese government including journalists and researchers, the Meta report says.
The operation originated in China and its targets included Taiwan, the United States, Australia, Britain, Japan, and global Chinese-speaking audiences.
Facebook or Instagram accounts or pages identified as part of the "large and prolific covert influence operation" were taken down for violating Meta rules against coordinated deceptive behavior on its platforms.
Meta's team said the network seemed to garner scant engagement, with viewer comments tending to point out bogus claims.
Clusters of fake accounts were run from various parts of China, with the cadence of activity strongly suggesting groups working from an office with daily job schedules, according to Meta.
- 'Doppelganger' -
Some tactics used in China were similar to those of a Russian online deception network exposed in 2019, which suggested the operations might be learning from one another, according to Nimmo.
Meta's threat report also provided analysis of the Russian influence campaign called Doppelganger, which was first disrupted by the security team a year ago.
The core of the operation was to mimic websites of mainstream news outlets in Europe and post bogus stories about Russia's war on Ukraine, then try to spread them online, said Meta head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher.
Companies involved in the campaign were recently sanctioned by the European Union.
Meta said Germany, France and Ukraine remained the most targeted countries overall, but that the operation had added the United States and Israel to its list of targets.
This was done by spoofing the domains of major news outlets, including the Washington Post and Fox News.
Gleicher described Doppelganger, which is intended to weaken support of Ukraine, as the largest and most aggressively persistent influence operation from Russia that Meta has seen since 2017.
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Defense Industry Analyst:
8
This article provides a comprehensive overview of Meta’s recent takedown of a Chinese spam operation, which has implications for the defense industry. It sheds light on the tactics and strategies used by the Chinese government to influence public opinion on social media, and offers insight into the ways in which defense industry analysts can counter such efforts.
Stock Market Analyst:
5
While this article contains information that is relevant to stock market analysts, it does not offer any direct insight into the financial implications of the Spamouflage operation or the potential impacts on the stock market.
General Industry Analyst:
7
This article provides valuable insight into the tactics used by the Chinese government to influence public opinion on social media, and offers valuable insight into the ways in which general industry analysts can counter such efforts. It is also relevant to general industry analysts as it sheds light on a widespread online Chinese spam operation and its implications for the industry.
Analyst Summary
:
This article provides a comprehensive overview of Meta’s recent takedown of a large and prolific Chinese spam operation, dubbed “Spamouflage”. Meta’s team identified more than 7,700 Facebook accounts and 15 Instagram accounts that were part of the operation. It was active across more than 50 platforms and forums, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X (formerly known as Twitter). The network typically posted praise for China and its Xinjiang province, and criticisms of the United States, Western foreign policies, and critics of the Chinese government. The operation originated in China and its targets included Taiwan, the United States, Australia, Britain, Japan, and global Chinese speaking audiences. For the defense industry, this article provides insight into the tactics and strategies used by the Chinese government to influence public opinion on social media, and offers insight into the ways in which defense industry analysts can counter such efforts. For general industry analysts, it sheds light on a widespread online Chinese spam operation and its implications for the industry.
Comparisons to Significant Events and Trends in the Space and Defense Industry Over the Past 25 Years: This article is similar to recent trends in the space and defense industry, such as the increased use of social media and other online platforms for espionage and influence operations. This is a phenomenon that has been observed in other countries, such as Russia and Iran, as well as in the United States. Furthermore, the Chinese government’s use of social media and other online platforms to influence public opinion is similar to its use of traditional media outlets to spread propaganda.
Investigative
Question:
- 1. What other tactics and strategies are being used by the Chinese government to influence public opinion on social media?
- 2. How have other countries responded to similar influence operations?
- 3.
How has the Chinese government’s use of social media and other online platforms changed over the past 25 years?4. What other platforms are being used by the Chinese government to spread propaganda?
5. How effective have the takedowns been in countering Chinese propaganda?
This AI report is generated by a sophisticated prompt to a ChatGPT API. Our editors clean text for presentation, but preserve AI thought for our collective observation. Please comment and ask questions about AI use by Spacedaily. We appreciate your support and contribution to better trade news.
