Twitter deleted hundreds of thousands of accounts in an effort to halt a Chinese propaganda operation.
On Thursday, the social media company said it deleted nearly 24,000 accounts within a “core network” that disseminated false narratives from the Communist Party of China and an additional 150,000 accounts who amplified the messages of those within the network.
“In general, this entire network was involved in a range of manipulative and coordinated activities,” Twitter said in a blog post. “They were Tweeting predominantly in Chinese languages and spreading geopolitical narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China (CCP), while continuing to push deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong.”
In late May, Chinese lawmakers approved a plan for a broad national security law criminalizing sedition, treason, and secession after overriding Hong Kong’s legislative body to introduce the proposal. “If this move takes place, ‘one country, two systems’ will be officially erased. This is the end of Hong Kong,” Dennis Kwok, a Hong Kong lawmaker, warned when the measure was first proposed.
In reaction to the law’s proposal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he certified to Congress that Hong Kong would no longer enjoy a high degree of autonomy from China, a decision that would threaten the area’s ability to operate as an international financial hub. President Trump echoed Pompeo’s decision and promised to end Hong Kong’s trading privileges in hopes it would prevent China from siphoning money from the area.
In November 2019, Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to support Hong Kong protesters advocating for civil liberties and freedoms, who, at times, even held up the American flag during their demonstrations. The law requires the United States to certify Hong Kong’s autonomy from China on an annual basis, or it would face a loss of special economic treatment.
China indicated it would take “countermeasures” should the U.S. react in a way that compromises its financial interests.
In its blog post, Twitter said it also suspended thousands of accounts that promoted the United Russia party and Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
“Ultimately our goal is to serve the public conversation, remove bad faith actors, and to advance public understanding of these critical topics,” Twitter said.
