Report: Facebook, Twitter Took Down Pro-US Influence Campaign
2022-09-01
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1Independent investigators have found that Facebook and Twitter removed a series of false accounts that pushed pro-Western policy positions to foreign users.
2Facebook's parent company, Meta, and Twitter said the accounts were removed because they violated their terms of service.
3The investigators who examined the activity say the campaigns used "deceptive" methods to push "pro-Western narratives in the Middle East and Central Asia."
4A series of secret campaigns were likely carried out over a five-year period, a report from California's Stanford University and the social media data company Graphika found.
5Twitter and Facebook shared their data about the accounts with the researchers.
6But they have not publicly identified what groups or organizations were behind the campaigns.
7Twitter said the evidence it gathered pointed to the United States and Britain as the likely origin of the activity.
8Meta identified the U.S. as being the country of origin for material appearing on Facebook and Instagram, the report said.
9In recent years, technology companies have shut down online influence operations connected to government-linked operations in China, Russia and Iran.
10The discovery of a U.S.-based online influence effort raises questions about who is behind the campaigns and whether the operations are effective.
11VOA asked the U.S. Department of Defense whether the military had created the false accounts.
12In answer, the Pentagon's press secretary, Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, said officials would need to look at the data provided by Facebook and Twitter.
13He added that the U.S. military does carry out "military information support operations around the world."
14Ryder said he could not speak about ongoing operations or specific department methods.
15But he did say that any military activities "operate within prescribed policies."
16The researchers noted that the social media accounts often shared links to false media websites as well as "sources linked to the U.S. military."
17For example, some websites in Central Asia suggested a connection to the U.S. military's Central Command.
18The report said the false accounts sometimes linked to articles from Voice of America and its sister organization, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
19False media sites that were created also copied stories from BBC Russia, VOA and other sources.
20Several suspended social media accounts were linked to false media accounts operating in Persian, such as Dariche News.
21That news site claimed to be an independent media company and also provided some original content.
22But, the report added, "many of their articles were explicit reposts from U.S.-funded Persian-language media, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Farda and VOA Farsi."
23The parent government organization for VOA and RFE/RL is the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
24A spokesperson for the agency, Lesley Jackson, told VOA in an emailed statement that it did not have knowledge of the false accounts.
25She said that USAGM only operates its own official social media accounts and websites.
26In doing so, the agency uses "the highest standards to ensure that official accounts are fact-based, accessible and verifiable," Jackson said.
27Jackson confirmed that USAGM does not work with other U.S. government agencies or other groups to push news content through false social media accounts.
28The methods used in the influence campaigns were similar to those used in campaigns involving other countries.
29These included using false photos to create accounts and using hashtags and calls to action to build support.
30One set of accounts in Central Asia mainly centered on Russia's military activities in the Middle East and Africa.
31But in February, it moved to the war in Ukraine, "presenting the conflict as a threat to people in Central Asia," the report said.
32The researchers noted the campaign methods used did not really work to increase user involvement.
33Most of the posts and tweets received only a handful of likes or retweets.
34And a majority of the accounts had fewer than 1,000 followers.
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Independent investigators have found that Facebook and Twitter removed a series of false accounts that pushed pro-Western policy positions to foreign users. 2Facebook's parent company, Meta, and Twitter said the accounts were removed because they violated their terms of service. The investigators who examined the activity say the campaigns used "deceptive" methods to push "pro-Western narratives in the Middle East and Central Asia." 3A series of secret campaigns were likely carried out over a five-year period, a report from California's Stanford University and the social media data company Graphika found. 4Twitter and Facebook shared their data about the accounts with the researchers. But they have not publicly identified what groups or organizations were behind the campaigns. 5Twitter said the evidence it gathered pointed to the United States and Britain as the likely origin of the activity. Meta identified the U.S. as being the country of origin for material appearing on Facebook and Instagram, the report said. 6Who is behind the campaigns? 7In recent years, technology companies have shut down online influence operations connected to government-linked operations in China, Russia and Iran. The discovery of a U.S.-based online influence effort raises questions about who is behind the campaigns and whether the operations are effective. 8VOA asked the U.S. Department of Defense whether the military had created the false accounts. In answer, the Pentagon's press secretary, Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, said officials would need to look at the data provided by Facebook and Twitter. He added that the U.S. military does carry out "military information support operations around the world." 9Ryder said he could not speak about ongoing operations or specific department methods. But he did say that any military activities "operate within prescribed policies." 10The researchers noted that the social media accounts often shared links to false media websites as well as "sources linked to the U.S. military." For example, some websites in Central Asia suggested a connection to the U.S. military's Central Command. 11The report said the false accounts sometimes linked to articles from Voice of America and its sister organization, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. False media sites that were created also copied stories from BBC Russia, VOA and other sources. 12Several suspended social media accounts were linked to false media accounts operating in Persian, such as Dariche News. That news site claimed to be an independent media company and also provided some original content. But, the report added, "many of their articles were explicit reposts from U.S.-funded Persian-language media, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Farda and VOA Farsi." 13The parent government organization for VOA and RFE/RL is the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM). A spokesperson for the agency, Lesley Jackson, told VOA in an emailed statement that it did not have knowledge of the false accounts. 14She said that USAGM only operates its own official social media accounts and websites. In doing so, the agency uses "the highest standards to ensure that official accounts are fact-based, accessible and verifiable," Jackson said. 15Jackson confirmed that USAGM does not work with other U.S. government agencies or other groups to push news content through false social media accounts. 16Similar to other influence campaigns 17The methods used in the influence campaigns were similar to those used in campaigns involving other countries. These included using false photos to create accounts and using hashtags and calls to action to build support. 18One set of accounts in Central Asia mainly centered on Russia's military activities in the Middle East and Africa. But in February, it moved to the war in Ukraine, "presenting the conflict as a threat to people in Central Asia," the report said. 19The researchers noted the campaign methods used did not really work to increase user involvement. Most of the posts and tweets received only a handful of likes or retweets. And a majority of the accounts had fewer than 1,000 followers. 20I'm Bryan Lynn. 21Michelle Quinn reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. 22__________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24deceptive - adj. intended to make someone believe something that is not true 25narrative - n. a story or description of events 26origin - n. where something comes from in the beginning 27prescribe - v. to say officially what people must do 28explicit - adj. clear and exact 29standard - n. a level of quality, especially one that is acceptable 30accessible - adj. easy to find or reach 31verifiable - adj. able to be proven 32______________________________________________________________________ 33What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.