Meta disables Chinese, Russian propaganda networks aimed at US midterms, Ukraine invasion
Justin Sullivan

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) said on Tuesday that it had disabled two unconnected propaganda networks, one with Chinese origin and the other emanating from Russia, aimed at the U.S. midterm elections and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 
Regarding the China-based network, Meta (META) said the Chinese-origin influence operation went across "multiple social media platforms," including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and two Czech domestic platforms and is the first to target U.S. domestic politics inside the country ahead of the midterms. It also mentioned Czechiaâs foreign policy toward China and Ukraine.
Meta (META) noted that the operation included "four largely separate and short-lived efforts" each aimed at a different audience and ran between the fall of 2021 and the middle of this month. In the U.S., people on both sides of the political spectrum were targeted, while in Czechia, the activity seen was largely "anti-government."
"Each cluster of accounts â around half a dozen each â posted content at low volumes during working hours in China rather than when their target audiences would typically be awake," the company wrote in a post, adding that "few people" engaged and some of those who did called it out as fake. 
Meta added that a network that was taken down in 2020 had a "very limited effort" to discuss U.S. politics, but it was largely focused on the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
The Russian propaganda network, aimed at the war in Ukraine, looked to use hundreds of fake social media accounts and more than 60 fake news websites that impersonated legitimate news websites in Europe, including The Guardian, Spiegel and Bild.
The network primarily targeted Germany, but France, Italy, Ukraine and the U.K. were also targeted, Meta said on Tuesday. 
"This is the largest and most complex Russian-origin operation that weâve disrupted since the beginning of the war in Ukraine," the company added, noting it presented an "unusual combination of sophistication and brute force." 
Last week, Meta Platforms (META) policy chief Nick Clegg said former President Donald Trump may be allowed back on Facebook once his account suspension ends in 2023.