Kathmandu, December
The social network Twitter has removed about 3500 accounts from 6 countries including China.
Twitter has removed 3,465 accounts used as “state-sponsored propaganda”. Al Jazeera reported that the removed accounts were from China, Mexico, Russia, Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela.
In a statement released on Twitter on Thursday, 2,048 of the deleted accounts were from China. In most of these accounts, the Chinese Communist Party’s “narrative” related to the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province has been posted.
The remaining 112 accounts are linked to Xinjiang’s provincial government-backed “Chhangyu culture.”
Twitter also removed 270 Tanzanian accounts. The accounts were removed after members and supporters of the civil rights group Fichua Tanzania were found to have been targeted.
Sixteen accounts linked to Russia’s Internet research agency have also been removed. The agency, which has been running an online campaign on behalf of the government, has been called a “troll farm” by critics.
Twitter says it has removed 50 other accounts targeting Libya’s civilian government and its supporters, as well as supporting Russia’s geopolitical position in Libya and Syria.
In Mexico, 276 accounts have been banned for sharing pro-government content, and in Venezuela, 277 accounts have been banned for posting hashtags and content in favor of government and government officials’ narratives.
The next day, Twitter took the next step after Facebook closed more than 500 accounts linked to China’s campaign to expand its influence. Twitter and Facebook are already banned in China.