Twitter, FB target state-linked accounts made to manipulate

Facebook and Twitter on Friday said they had blocked multiple government-backed manipulation operations around the world, several of which favored US President Donald Trump, as part of a crackdown on state-sponsored propaganda efforts.

Twitter said it had blocked some 88,000 accounts linked to Saudi state-backed "information operations", in violation of its manipulation rules.

Separately, Facebook said it had blocked a network in Vietnam and the United States which posted pro-Trump messages aimed at US citizens, along with another network targeting domestic audiences in the country of Georgia.

It comes as social media giants have been struggling in the face of state-backed disinformation efforts, often using automated accounts or "bots" to manipulate the platforms, amplifying their own messages while disparaging opponents.

Most of the accounts blocked by Twitter on Friday were in Arabic and aimed at "amplifying messages favorable to Saudi authorities," but that some English language content was aimed at "Western audiences."

Twitter said it released details on 5,929 accounts which it called a "representative sample" of the 88,000 suspicious accounts.

Facebook said the effort originating in Vietnam was traced to the multi-language media group Epoch Times, which is linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, and a US media outlet called BL, which has been posting pro-Trump messages.

The California-based company added that it removed more than 600 accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

The researchers said "sophisticated state actors" from at least seven countries are working outside their borders on global foreign influence operations, using Facebook and Twitter.

The report identified the countries as China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.