Twitter disclosed 32,242 accounts to their archives of state-linked information operations. The account sets recently published to the archives include three distinct operations that Twitter has attributed to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Russia, and Turkey.
Twitter states that every account and piece of content associate with these operations has been permanently removed from the service.
According to Twitter, the PRC disclosure relates to two interconnected sets of accounts. One set has 23,750 accounts that comprise the core of the network. They had low follower accounts and low engagement.
The other set had approximately 150,000 amplifier accounts, designed to boost the things the first group posted. The core group of accounts were caught early and failed to receive consider traction on Twitter. The majority of the 150,000 amplifier accounts had little to no follower counts and were strategically designed to artificially inflate impression metrics and engage with the core accounts.
These groups predominantly tweeted in Chinese languages and spread geopolitical narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China (CCP). They also posted deceptive narratives about the political dynamics of Hong Kong.
The Russia network of 1,152 accounts were suspended for violations of Twitter’s platform manipulation policy, specifically for cross-posting and amplifying content in an inauthentic, coordinated manner for political ends. These accounts promoted the United Russia Party and attacked political dissidents.
The Turkey network of 7,340 accounts were suspended for inauthentic activity, primarily targeted at domestic accounts in Turkey. It was a collection of fake and compromised accounts that were used to amplify political narratives favorable to the AK Parti, and demonstrated support for President Erdogan.
Personally, I think Twitter is making a good start with these efforts – but it could still do more. It would be good for Twitter to look into networks of inauthentic accounts that tweet in English, and that are politically motivated. One of the things that bothers me about Twitter is the plethora of inauthentic accounts that clutter up the place.