Facebook parent company Meta said in a report released Tuesday that it took down a Chinese covert digital influence operation that sought to discredit U.S. institutions and the West while promoting its own agenda on more than 50 social media platforms.
Meta said on Facebook alone, cloaked users with ties to Chinese law enforcement gained more than 550,000 followers with unfounded claims about the U.S. government's role in the COVID-19 pandemic along with attacking the White House's support for Taiwan.
The report also noted that Chinese-linked users on Reddit pushed the conspiracy that former British Prime Minister Liz Truss was involved in the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Users on numerous other platforms -- from Medium to YouTube, X and Quora -- specifically targeted Chinese dissidents with criticism.
"This campaign was run by geographically dispersed operators across China who appeared to be centrally provisioned with Internet access and content," Meta said in its report. "It included positive commentary about China and its province Xinjiang and criticisms of the United States, Western foreign policies, and critics of the Chinese government including journalists and researchers.
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