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ANTISOCIAL

Twitter Shuts Down 200,000 Chinese Accounts for Spreading Disinformation About Hong Kong Protests

The social-media giant will also ban ads from Beijing’s state-backed companies like it did with Russian-backed ads in 2017.

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ado Ruvic/Reuters

By Barbie Latza Nadeau

Twitter is shutting down 200,000 accounts believed to be part of a Chinese government influence campaign against the pro-democracy protest movement in Hong Kong. The Associated Press reports the social-media platform will also ban ads from Chinese state-run companies, much like it did in 2017 when it banned ads from two Russian companies. A Twitter representative also confirmed to the AP that the companies in question have been reported to the FBI for investigation. Twitter is banned in mainland China, but widely used in Hong Kong, where protesters have gathered for 11 straight weeks to demonstrate against increased Chinese interference.

Read it at AP

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