Meta removes China-based network for spreading false claims on COVID-19

Formerly known as Facebook, Meta on Wednesday revealed that it has deleted over 600 accounts, pages and groups over "deceptive COVID-19-focused activity across the internet". Meta's head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher unveiled the first report on its findings on coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB) and stated that the company has deleted several accounts in China, European nations, Palestine among others. In regards to China, Meta removed the network connected to an influence operation spreading false claims on COVID-19 as well as an account claiming to be a fictitious Swiss biologist.

It is pertinent to note that the China-based network was one of the six networks that the company deleted in November this year for Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB), Brigading and Mass Reporting." The Meta's official said in a statement, "We removed four networks from Palestine, Poland, Belarus, and China for violating our policy on Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB)." "Each of these networks targeted people in multiple countries at once. This month, we’re also sharing a more detailed analysis of the network from China, including, for the first time, specific threat indicators to facilitate further research into this deceptive COVID-19-focused activity across the internet," he added.

Moreover, the firm decided to remove one network in Italy and France for brigading and one network in Vietnam for mass reporting. As per the statement, the global threats that the firm has to tackle have significantly evolved since it started publishing the findings of the coordinated inauthentic behaviour in 2017. Gleicher further noted that adversarial networks do not strive “to neatly fit our policies or only violate one at a time.” In a bid to adjust to the constantly shifting threat environment, Meta’s defences are met with new tactics from such networks, he added.

Further elaborating on the network of accounts that originated in Italy and France, the company’s official said that they “targeted medical professionals, journalists, and elected officials with mass harassment.” Gleicher added, “Our investigation linked this activity to an anti-vaccination conspiracy movement called V_V, publicly reported to engage in violent online and offline behaviours.”

‘We will remove any adversarial networks…’

Since Meta also removed one network in Vietnam for mass reporting, the official affirmed, “We will remove any adversarial networks we find where people work together to mass-report an account or content to get it incorrectly taken down from our platform.” The company listed all the accounts that it removed in November this year. The networks removed last month included the following:

• 141 Facebook accounts, 79 Pages, 13 Groups and 21 Instagram accounts from the Gaza Strip in Palestine
• 31 Facebook accounts, four Groups, two Facebook Events and four Instagram accounts that are believed to be originated in Poland and targeted Belarus and Iraq
• 41 Facebook accounts, five Groups, and four Instagram accounts in Belarus
• 524 Facebook accounts, 20 Pages, four Groups and 86 accounts on Instagram

(IMAGE: AP)