Meta uncovers covert pro-China ‘Spamouflage’ Facebook operation that was critical of the West
- The social media giant removed around 7,700 Facebook accounts and hundreds of other pages, groups and Instagram accounts connected to the campaign
- Meta said the accounts were part of a widespread online Chinese spam operation trying to covertly boost China and criticise the West
Facebook parent company Meta said on Tuesday it had uncovered links between people associated with Chinese law enforcement and the long-running but largely ineffectual pro-China “Spamouflage” influence operation.
The social media giant removed around 7,700 Facebook accounts and hundreds of other pages, groups and Instagram accounts connected to the campaign, elements of which have been active since 2018, it said in a quarterly security report.
“We assess that it’s the largest, though unsuccessful, and most prolific covert influence operation that we know of in the world today,” said Meta Global Threat Intelligence Lead Ben Nimmo.
We’ve been able to link Spamouflage to individuals associated with Chinese law enforcement
The “Spamouflage” campaign was active across more than 50 platforms and forums including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter, according to a Meta threat report.
“And we’ve been able to link Spamouflage to individuals associated with Chinese law enforcement.”
The “Spamouflage” network has engaged in spurts of activity over the last several years pushing positive narratives about China and negative commentary about the United States, Western foreign policies and critics of the Chinese government.
“For the first time we’ve been able to tie these many clusters together to confirm that they all go to one operation,” Nimmo said.