Phony Chinese Facebook Pages Attempted to Disrupt US Politics

Facebook reported they have removed a portion of phony Chinese accounts aimed at disrupting political activity in the USA and a few other countries.

China's Shady Tactics to Influence Political Opinions Via Facebook

According to Facebook, the primary focus of the account’s overall activity was Southeast Asia and the Philippines.

The accounts related to the US shared material both in support of and against presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, and President Donald Trump.

Facebook stated that the people behind the fake accounts tried to hide their identity and location via virtual private networks.

Concerns about foreign efforts to interfere in the election were underscored by a warning Tuesday from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency that expressed concerns about election intervention and disinformation, however, they pointed out that even if a cybercriminal managed to tamper with an election-related website, the underlying data would remain uncompromised.

In August, US intelligence officials warned about ongoing or potential efforts by China, Russia, and Iran to interfere in November’s election.

According to the country’s chief counterintelligence official, William Evanina, the officials had determined that Beijing considers Donald Trump unpredictable and wants him to lose to Joe Biden.

However, the intelligence assessment stated that Moscow was using various measures to slander Biden and the Kremlin-linked actors were supporting Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television. So, the question of which country threatens the election security most has turned into a politically fraught issue.

According to Facebook, the network is focused mainly on Southeast Asia, where it posted in Chinese, Filipino, and English about global news and current events. 

These included Beijing’s interests in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, support for Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter’s potential run in that nation’s 2022 presidential election, and criticism of Rappler, an independent news organization in the Philippines.

Additionally, Facebook removed a second network coming from the Philippines that posted about local news and events in Filipino and English.