Meta recently revealed that it thwarted two of the most significant covert influence campaigns globally, originating from China and Russia. They took action by blocking numerous accounts and pages across their platforms.
According to Guy Rosen, Meta’s Chief Information Security Officer,” the Chinese disinformation group targeted over 50 apps, such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, Medium, Blogspot, LiveJournal, VKontakte, Vimeo, and numerous smaller platforms and forums.”
Peak activity times of accounts monitored
This network, which included 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 Pages, 15 Groups, and 15 Instagram accounts, was operated by individuals scattered across China. They shared content related to China, Xinjiang province, criticism of the U.S. and Western foreign policies, and critiques of the Chinese government.
Revealing illicit motives
The primary activity of this group involved sharing spammy links originating from a cluster known as Spamouflage (also called DRAGONBRIDGE) that had been active since the latter part of 2018.
Meta uncovered links to individuals connected to Chinese law enforcement in connection with this operation. Many comments on Spamouflage posts appeared to come from other Spamouflage accounts, attempting to create the illusion of popularity.
However, these efforts did not gain significant engagement from genuine communities on Meta’s platforms.
Did someone get offended?
In response to these findings, China accused some individuals and institutions of launching numerous “rumor campaigns” against China on social media platforms, spreading considerable disinformation. China called on Meta to take concrete actions to combat disinformation related to China.
Learning Meta’s accomplishments
Meta revealed that it blocked thousands of malicious website domains and efforts to create fake accounts and Pages linked to the Russian operation known as Doppelganger. This operation was attributed to two companies, Structura National Technologies and Social Design Agency.
Media clones serving Russian propaganda
Doppelganger focused on mimicking websites of mainstream news outlets and government entities, posting fake articles to undermine support for Ukraine.
This campaign expanded beyond its initial targets of France, Germany, and Ukraine to include the U.S. and Israel.
Using typosquatting techniques in domain names allowed terrible actors to pose as legitimate news sites, providing an example of evading detection.
Meta described Doppelganger as the most significant and persistently aggressive Russian-origin operation dismantled since 2017 and removed accounts’ networks targeting audiences in Turkey.
Think more about it!
Meta’s efforts to uncover and disrupt these covert influence operations are a positive step towards a more transparent and secure online environment. However, it also serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges.
As these threats persist and evolve, tech companies and society significantly need to remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding the integrity of online spaces.
