Facebook removes Chinese network spreading COVID-19 disinformation

• Facebook took down more than 600 accounts, pages and groups related to a Chinese network

• The account claimed U.S. was pressuring WHO scientists to blame China for the COVID-19 virus

Meta, parent company of Facebook, said it has taken down more than 600 accounts, pages and groups related to a Chinese network spreading disinformation on COVID-19.

The company noted the China-based operation when it was alerted about an account of a Swiss biologist, who does not exists, spreading false information.

The account claimed on Facebook and Twitter that U.S. was pressuring World Health Organization scientists to blame China for the COVID-19 virus.

Also Read: SEC rejects WisdomTree’s spot bitcoin ETF proposal

"This campaign was a hall of mirrors, endlessly reflecting a single fake persona," Ben Nimmo, who investigates influence operations at Meta, wrote in the company's report. 

Other removed accounts

In November, Meta has removed six networks abusing its platforms including one supporting Hamas and two others, based in Poland and Belarus, spreading false information on the migration crisis on the countries' shared border.

Facebook-parent also removed a European network spreading anti-vaccination conspiracy that harassed doctors, elected officials and journalists on Facebook and other internet platforms.

Another such network was from Vietnam that reported activists and government critics to Facebook to get them banned on the platform.

Also Read: SEC finalizes rule to delist Chinese firms for not complying audit disclosure requirements

Meta called the Chinese operation "coordinated inauthentic behavior," using fake accounts to spread disinformation.

The company acknowledged that though it is becoming faster at taking actions against these accounts, but it is playing a cat-and-mouse game.

"Adversarial networks don't strive to neatly fit our policies or only violate one at a time," Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta's head of security policy, wrote in a blog post.

"We build our defenses with the expectation that they will not stop, but rather adapt and try new tactics."

(With inputs from NPR)

Picture Credits: Getty Images