WASHINGTON: Twitter said Monday it has suspended more than 200,000 accounts that it believes were part of a Chinese government influence campaign targeting the protest movement in Hong Kong.
The company also said it will ban ads from state-backed media companies, expanding a prohibition it first applied in 2017 to two Russian entities.
Both measures are part of what a senior company official portrayed in an interview as a broader effort to curb malicious political activity on a popular platform that has been criticized for enabling election interference around the world and for accepting money for ads that amount to propaganda by state-run media organizations.
The accounts were suspended for violating the social networking platform’s terms of service and “because we think this is not how people can come to Twitter to get informed,” the official said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said the Chinese activity was reported to the FBI, which investigated Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election through social media.
After being notified by Twitter and conducting its own investigation, Facebook said Monday that it has also removed seven pages, three groups and five accounts, including some portraying protesters as cockroaches and terrorists.
Facebook, which is more widely used in Hong Kong, does not release the data on such state-backed influence operations.
Twitter traced the Hong Kong campaign to two fake Chinese and English Twitter accounts that pretended to be news organizations based in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy demonstrators have taken to the streets since early June calling for full democracy and an inquiry into what they say is police violence against protesters.
Though Twitter is banned in China, it is available in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous region.
The Chinese language account, @HKpoliticalnew, and the English account, @ctcc507, pushed tweets depicting protesters as violent criminals in a campaign aimed at influencing public opinion around the world. One of those accounts was tied to a suspended Facebook account that went by the same moniker: HKpoliticalnew.
An additional 936 core accounts Twitter believes originated from within China attempted to sow political discord in Hong Kong by undermining the protest movement’s legitimacy and political positions.
About 200,000 more automated Twitter accounts amplified the messages, engaging with the core accounts in the network. Few tweeted more than once, the official said, mostly because Twitter quickly caught many of them.
The Twitter official said the investigation remains ongoing and there could be further disclosures.
The Twitter campaign reflects the fact that the Chinese government has studied the role of social media in mass movements and fears the Hong Kong protests could spark wider unrest, said James Lewis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“This is standard Chinese practice domestically, and we know that after 2016 they studied what the Russians did in the US carefully,” Lewis said. “So it sounds like this is the first time they’re deploying their new toy.”
Twitter has sought to more aggressively monitor its network for malicious political activity since the 2016 presidential election and to be more transparent about its investigations, publicly releasing such data about state-backed influence operations since October so others can evaluate it, the official said.
“We’re not only telling the public this happened, we’re also putting the data out there so people can study it for themselves,” the official said.
As for state-backed media organizations, they are still allowed to use Twitter, but are no longer allowed to pay for ads, which show up regardless of whether you have elected to follow the group’s tweet.
Twitter declined to provide a list of what it considers state-backed media organizations, but a representative said it may consider doing so in the future. In 2017, Twitter specifically announced it would ban Russia-based RT and Sputnik from advertising on its platform.
Twitter shuts more than 200,000 Chinese accounts targeting Hong Kong protests
Twitter shuts more than 200,000 Chinese accounts targeting Hong Kong protests
- Twitter traced the Hong Kong campaign to two fake Chinese and English Twitter accounts that pretended to be news organizations based in Hong Kong
- An additional 936 core accounts Twitter believes originated from within China attempted to sow political discord in Hong Kong
Gems of Arabia magazine launched to spotlight talents shaping Saudi Arabia’s evolving cultural landscape
- The publication features established and emerging talents elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media
- Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel seeks to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences
DUBAI: When Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel interviewed Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud before her appointment as Saudi ambassador to the US, the longtime advocate of women’s empowerment made a powerful prediction: “I look forward to the day that the Saudi woman is no longer the story but rather a phenomenal achievement.”
That moment would become the foundation for Gems of Arabia, an arts and culture audio-visual podcast that spotlights the creative talents shaping the landscape of Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
Over six years, Gems of Arabia has documented the sweeping transformation of the Kingdom’s art and culture scene, and is now evolving into a full-fledged magazine.
“It started off as a column I used to write, and from there, it turned into a podcast. Now it is growing into a magazine,” Dubai-based Alakeel, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, told Arab News ahead of the launch of the digital publication on Thursday.
Besides spotlighting celebrated regional artists, Alakeel said Gems of Arabia is in search of the “hidden gems” elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media.
The magazine serves as a platform for talented, authentic creatives and tech entrepreneurs unable to articulate their work “because they don’t have the public relations or capacity to promote themselves even through social media.”
Alakeel added: “Our job is to identify all these authentic people; you don’t have to be famous, you just have to be authentic, and have a great story to tell.”
The digital publication offers a dynamic blend of short-form podcasts, coverage of regional cultural events, in-depth features and editorials, long-form interviews and artist profiles — spotlighting both celebrated and emerging talents. This is complemented by social media vox pops and bite-sized coverage of art events across the region.
Alakeel, who also runs Authenticite, a consulting and creative production agency connecting creators and brands who want to understand Saudi culture, said the magazine content is “carefully curated” to feature topics and personalities that resonate in the region.
Growing up in France, Alakeel said his mission started early on when he felt the need to represent his Saudi culture “in a way where it can hold its own internationally.”
Through his first brand, Toby, he sought to bring the traditional thobe into modern designs and introduce it to the luxury fashion world. This mission was accomplished when his thobe designs were placed alongside global labels such as Harvey Nichols, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.
What began as a personal design mission would soon expand into a broader platform to champion Saudi talent.
“I was articulating my culture through fashion and it just felt natural to do that through the incredible people that the region has,” Alakeel said, adding that the magazine aims to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences.
“Art is such a great way of learning about a culture and a country,” he said.
What differentiates Gems of Arabia, Alakeel said, is its story of continuity and substance amassed over the years that has captured the evolution of the wider regional landscape.
“The website represents an archive of nearly 150 articles compiled through years of podcasts and long-form conversations that show continuity and depth changes,” he added.
“So, it’s an evolution and it’s another home for all our content and our community.”
On the ground in Saudi Arabia, the publication hosts GEMS Forum, a series of live cultural gatherings that bring together prominent artistic figures for in-depth conversations later transformed into podcast episodes recorded with a live audience.
Alakeel said the print edition of Gems of Arabia will debut in March, designed as a collectible coffee-table quarterly distributed across the Gulf.
He envisions the platform growing into a long-term cultural record.
“It's a Saudi-centric magazine, but the idea is to make it inclusive to the region and everyone authentic has a seat at the table,” said Alakeel.
