Social media platforms have been combating state-backed influence campaigns since after the 2016 ... [+]
Topline: Days after Facebook and Twitter took action against a Chinese-backed campaign to discredit pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, YouTube followed suit, saying on Thursday that it disabled 210 accounts behaving in a “coordinated manner” while uploading videos about Hong Kong.
- Google, which owns YouTube, didn’t say outright that China was behind the coordinated influence operation, only that the takedowns were “consistent with recent observations and actions related to China announced by Facebook and Twitter.”
- The account owners used VPNs to disguise their true origin, the company said, since Google and YouTube are banned in China.
- Google did not describe what the videos in question said about Hong Kong, how many views those videos received, or whether the offending accounts simply uploaded videos or purchased ads on the site too.
Google came under pressure this week to remove ads purchased by a state-run media channel that implied the protests are the result of foreign influence, the Verge reported.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Key Background: Facebook and Twitter earlier this week removed scores of fake accounts linked to the Chinese government or state-backed media organizations that were spreading pro-China posts and memes that disparaged the protesters in Hong Kong.
Facebook and Twitter have had to deal with state-backed disinformation campaigns since Russia's effort during the 2016 presidential election. Researchers have since identified countries using similar tactics, such as Iran and Venezuela.
