In its recent quarterly threat report, social media giant Meta (Facebook's parent company) has underlined a mounting concern involving fake Facebook accounts emanating from China, spreading fabricated news about India. The report underscored the intricacies of the strategies employed by these accounts to sway public opinion and shape discourse. Meta disclosed that it successfully dismantled a substantial network of fraudulent accounts originating from China earlier this year.
These accounts, masquerading as Indian users, were extensively engaged in propagating deceptive information related to Indian politics and various national security matters.
"This network operated fictitious personas on Facebook posing as journalists, lawyers and human-rights activists. The network posted mainly in English, and to a lesser extent in Hindi and Chinese, about regional news, culture, sports and travel in Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh. Notably, the Tibet-focused accounts posed as pro-independence activists who also accused exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama and his followers of corruption and paedophilia," the report said.
It added,"The Arunachal Pradesh-focused accounts posted positive commentary about the Indian army, Indian athletes and Indian scientific achievements, and accused the Indian government of corruption and supporting ethnic violence in the Indian state of Manipur."
Meta stated that, to make the content look authentic, the fake accounts employed a strategy of commenting on and sharing each other's posts. The tech giant asserted that it has effectively eradicated this network from all its platforms.
