Meta warns that China is stepping up its online social media influence operations
NPR Online NewsNov 30, 2023
Meta on Thursday announced that it removed nearly 4.8K fake Facebook accounts allegedly linked to China that it alleges sought to deepen partisan discord by impersonating Americans and posting about controversial issues, such as abortion and healthcare.
According to Meta, the accounts, which it said posed as authentic Americans, didn't post misinformation but, instead, copied and pasted posts from prominent politicians such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
After faith in US Democracy was shaken by Russia’s aggressive election interference campaign in 2016, social media companies such as Meta must continue to do their due diligence to snuff out these foreign networks. The rise of social media has come with a mass proliferation of misinformation from both domestic and foreign actors, and while Russia remains the biggest threat, China is emerging, which means there must be a greater initiative to combat this cyber assault.
The US is always quick to point its fingers at others without acknowledging its own shortcomings. While there may very well be malicious foreign actors, there are also undoubtedly domestic ones. Before spreading rumors and panic about foreign election interference, Washington must get its own house in order by eliminating the very real homegrown threats that risk jeopardizing its democracy.