interests abroad have been active, though no specific efforts had previously been documented and studied. Researchers have long suspected that influence operations promoting U.S. China has also used Facebook and Twitter to burnish its image and to undercut accusations of human rights abuses. Russia pioneered many of these online disinformation tactics, using Facebook, Twitter and other social networks to spread divisive messaging among American voters in the 2016 presidential election.

Until Wednesday, influence operations backed by nation-states on social networks like Facebook and Twitter have been attributed mainly to Russia, China, Iran and other foreign adversaries of the United States. foreign influence operation taken down by Twitter and Meta.” “It’s the first time we’ve seen a pro-U.S. “It’s the first time we’ve seen something like this,” said Renée DiResta, research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory. The posts criticized countries like Russia for engaging in “imperialist wars” in Syria and Africa, while praising American aid efforts in Central Asia and Iraq. The accounts behind the operation often posed as news outlets or took on the personas of people who didn’t exist, posting content in at least seven languages, including Russian, Arabic and Urdu. The operation, which ran for almost five years on eight social networks and messaging apps, promoted the views, values and goals of the United States while attacking the interests of Russia, China, Iran and other countries, the researchers found.

interests abroad had been discovered and taken down from the social media platforms. It was the first time that an influence campaign pushing U.S. foreign policy interests abroad, according to a report on Wednesday by researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory and the research company Graphika. SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter have removed an influence operation from their networks that promoted U.S.

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