Meta Removes Thousands of Accounts Connected to Chinese Propaganda Effort

Meta has disclosed information regarding a vast network of counterfeit accounts that aimed to disseminate pro-China propaganda on its platform. The company revealed that these account takedowns were connected to individuals affiliated with Chinese law enforcement, who also managed comparable fraudulent accounts across numerous other platforms.

While the company regularly shares updates on taking down fake accounts linked to widespread manipulation, Meta’s security researchers said the latest effort was particularly significant given the size and scope of the operation. In total, Meta shut down 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 pages, 15 groups and 15 Instagram accounts, making it one of the largest networks of fake accounts the company has ever uncovered.

Speaking to reporters, Meta’s director of global threat intelligence, Ben Nimmo, described the effort as “the most productive covert operation we know of in the world today.” He noted that the group behind the accounts was also active on X, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest and dozens of other social platforms.

According to Meta, the fake accounts attempted to spread pro-China messages, including “positive comments about China and its Xinjiang province, as well as criticism of the United States, Western foreign policy, and criticism of the Chinese government, including journalists and scholars.” The company attributed the accounts to Chinese law enforcement, but did not name a specific agency or organization. Meta confirmed that it had found evidence linking the fake accounts to a previously known pro-China influence operation that first surfaced in 2019, dubbed “Spamouflage” by security researchers.

Despite the scale of the effort, Meta said the people behind the fake accounts were not particularly skilled or successful in their efforts to spread the virus. “Spamouflage constantly struggled to get outside of its own (fake) echo chamber,” Meta writes in its quarterly security report. “Many of the comments on Spamouflage posts we’ve seen came from other Spamoflauge accounts trying to make it look like they were more popular than they were.”

Still, Nimmo said those behind Spamouflage aren’t likely to give up. “This operation is large, prolific and ongoing,” he said. “We expect it to keep trying.”