Facebook on Tuesday removes around 150 accounts that were being operated from China and spread false information about US presidential elections scheduled to be conducted on November 3.
“We removed 155 accounts, eleven pages, nine groups and six Instagram accounts for violating our policy against foreign or government interference which is coordinated inauthentic behaviour on behalf of a foreign or government entity,” Facebook said in a statement.
“This activity originated in China and focused primarily on the Philippines and Southeast Asia more broadly, and also on the United States.”
Facebook’s head of security policy, Nathaniel Giecher, in a post said the accounts ” posted content both in support of and against presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden and Donald Trump.”
The accounts posted in Chinese, Filipino and English and also posted news and events happening across the globe including naval activity in the South China Sea, protests in Hong Kong and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.
US intelligence officials have suspected that China, along with Russia and Iran, are attempting to interfere in the November election as the country’s collectively hold grudges against President Donald Trump.
Earlier, Facebook had removed a small network of accounts which indicated their inks with Russian agency.
Apart from 155 Facebook accounts, Facebook has removed 11 pages, 9 groups and 6 Instagram accounts who attracted more than 130,000 followers worldwide. Out of which, only 3,000 were based in the U.S. According to the company, the accounts were removed as a process to curb misinformation and make Facebook a safer place for every community.
Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, earlier said that the company is taking steps to “encourage voting, miminimize misinformation and reduce civil unrest” ahead of November election.
“This is not going to be business as usual. We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy. That means helping people register and vote, clearing up confusion about how this election will work and taking steps to reduce the chances of violence and unrest,” Zuckerberg said.
