Meta Find Chinese Agents' Campaigns On Facebook And Instagram To Influence Elections In The US, How About In Indonesia?

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc., stated Tuesday, September 27 that there is a China-based campaign operation focused on influencing social media users in the United States with political content ahead of midterm elections in November.

The network maintains fake accounts across social media platforms Meta, Facebook and Instagram, as well as its rival service, Twitter. “But these are small in number and don't attract a large following,” Meta said in a report on its findings.

However, the report notes, the findings are significant because they indicate a shift toward more direct interference in US domestic politics than previously known Chinese propaganda efforts.

"The Chinese operations we've had before speak primarily about America to the world, especially in South Asia, not to Americans about themselves," Meta global threat intelligence chief Ben Nimmo told a news conference.

"Basically the message was 'America is bad, China is good,'" he said of the operation. Meanwhile the new operation pushes for messages aimed at Americans on both sides of divisive issues, such as abortion and gun rights.

Another Meta executive at the briefing said they did not have enough evidence to say which actors in China were behind the activity.

Asked about Meta's findings at a news conference, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said his office was "deeply concerned" about intelligence reports of election interference by foreign governments that "began some time ago and continue today."

A Twitter spokesperson said the company was aware of the information in the Meta report and had also begun deleting the account.

According to the Meta report, fake accounts from China masquerade as liberal and conservative Americans in different states. They've been posting political memes and lurking in the comments of public figures' posts since November 2021.

The sample screenshot shows one account commenting on a Facebook post by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, asking him to stop gun violence and using the hashtag #RubioChildrenKiller.

According to the report, the same network also created fake accounts posing as people in the Czech Republic who criticized the Czech government for its approach to China.

Meta also said it had intercepted the largest and most complex Russia-based operation since the war in Ukraine began, describing it as a vast network of more than 60 websites impersonating legitimate news organizations, along with about 4,000 social media accounts and petitions on those websites. such as the US-based Avaaz campaign group.

The operation primarily targeted users in Germany, as well as France, Italy, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, and spent more than $100,000 on ads promoting pro-Russian messages.

On several occasions, Russian embassies in Europe and Asia reinforced the content.

On several occasions, it is clear that these Chinese agents use social media to influence the political choices of the people in certain countries. It could also be done in Indonesia where many citizens also use social media to campaign. However, until now there is no evidence that Chinese agents also play a role in various political agendas in the country.