Social media platform X has been removing thousands of accounts from its platform over the past month with apparent ties to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The Epoch Times reports that it had a hand in the removal.
The Times said it was involved in an investigation of thousands of fake accounts on X that had one apparent focus — getting more attention directed at posts supportive of the CCP's international objectives.
Those objectives, according to the Times, range from a broad-reaching attempt to influence American voters in the 2024 elections, to more targeted information posts aimed at specific organizations that are not aligned with the CCP.
The Times report said Meta, the parent organization operating Facebook and Instagram, revealed it was working in 2024 to target thousands of accounts that may have been directly controlled by the CCP on a variety of platforms, "that were part of what appears to be the largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world.”
The Times said the action by X to scrub fake accounts is part of an ongoing effort to stamp out illegitimate platform activity. “We take reports like these very seriously, and continue to action millions of accounts per week for platform manipulation and spam violations,” said Dave Heinzinger, X’s head of media strategy, in an email to Epoch Times.
The Times did not say when it began its investigation into the matter. It said results of its findings were sent to X and the platform then began its review of the suspected bot network. Most of the accounts were subsequently taken down by X over the past several weeks. The Times also reported that at least one U.S.-based media outlet had some of its stories promoted by the connected fake accounts.