CHINAS FAKEBOOK China lsquousingMILLIONS of bogus Facebook profiles tospread Covid fake news on accountsbigger than Messi and Bieberrsquo

1 Apr 2021 1043

75 Comments

CHINA is feared to be using millions of fake accountson Facebook to try and spread Covidmisinformation

It is an operation which may have inflated theCommunist Party pages to be some of the mostpopular on the social media platform

EXCLUSIVE

Henry Holloway1240 1 Apr 2021 Updated

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English-language versions of Chinese state mediaoutlets dominate lists of the largest accounts -despite Facebook actually being BANNED in China

Chinas enormous pages have more followers thansome of the worlds most popular celebrities -including Will Smith Lionel Messi Justin Bieber KatyPerry and Dwayne The Rock Johnson

The outlets also totally overwhelm sports teams likeBarcelona Real Madrid and Manchester United andbrands such as Coca-Cola YouTube and McDonalds

Experts told The Sun Online these astonishingnumbers of followers are likely heavily inflated bymass mobilisations of bot accounts to boost thepages to try give them more reach in the West

MPs called on Facebook to investigate after Ofcomtook action to revoke the license of Chinese state TVchannel CGTN

CGTN and state-run news outlets such as China DailyXinhua News Agency The Global Times and PeoplesDaily are far and away the biggest news mediaoutlets on Facebook

outlets on FacebookTom Tugdenhat MP said Facebook was allowing Chinato spread its propaganda while Tobias Ellwood MPdemanded the platform has a duty to act incombatting Chinese misinformation

Facebook assured The Sun Online it takes down anyharmful misinformation spread by the publications- and defended their place on the platform as theyare clearly labelled as state media

All of the pages have also grown rapidly over the lastfew months as they picked up millions morefollowers according to monitoring site Socialbakers

And all of them are known to heavily push Chinasnarrative on the pandemic and other fake news -having been given a negative red rating fortrustworthiness by monitoring group NewsGuard

Labels do appear on the pages under a section abouttransparency - but these are not immediatelyvisible while your timeline browsing on desktop ormobile

The media outlets have spread dangerous fake newsabout vaccines about the origins of the virus andaggressively promoted Chinas Covid response

CGTN has published stories explaining whycoronavirus is a US weapon The Global Times hasrun pieces claiming the Pfzier jab may contain toxicsubstances and The Peoples Daily tried to link 30people dying in Norway to the jab

CGTN is the fourth biggest page on Facebook with115million followers - dwarfing every other mediaoutlet - and only behind pages for Facebook itselfSamsung and Cristiano Ronaldo

China Daily is close behind with 103million withXinhua having 89million the Peoples Daily having86million and the firebrand Global Times having61million

The only media outlet that comes close is NationalGeographic which has 64million followers - aroundhalf that of the biggest Chinese accounts

No other news pages beyond the five Chinese outletsand NatGeo even reach the top 50 largest pages onFacebook

Contrast this to the followers to other leading mediaoutlets such as the BBC which has 53million CNNthat sits at 34million and Fox News with 18million

The baffling figures are believed to be part of awider campaign by the Chinese state to increase itsinfluence in Britain and America - especially asrelations frost over amid ongoing rows with theCovid-19 pandemic

It comes as Facebook has promised to take stricteractions on fake news including throttling certainaccounts it deems unreliable and kicking people offthe platform like Donald Trump - who had 40millionfollowers

Chinese state media also has large presence onTwitter but these pages are much smaller - withCGTN having 136million followers around 9 per centof their platform on Facebook

No accounts from China even make it into the top 50largest accounts on Twitter which labels theaccounts as state-affiliated media beneath theirnames on users timelines

Facebook risks enabling Beijing to spread itspropaganda campaigns to tens of millionsTom Tugdenhat MP

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed for an aggressivestate media to spread the message of the CommunistParty Credit AFP or licensors

Mr Tugendhat chair of the Foreign Affairs SelectCommittee told The Sun Online Over the past yearits become clear that CCP officials and Chinese state-owned media have embraced the tactic of usingWestern social media platforms to spreaddisinformation about Xinjiang Hong Kong and Covid-19

Facebook risks enabling Beijing to spread itspropaganda campaigns to tens of millions

Social media platforms need to be held accountablefor the spread of disinformation that threatens ourdemocracy

Mr Ellwood chairman of the Defence SelectCommittee added This illustrates the doublestandards by China where Facebook is banned Yet itleaps on Facebook in the West to promote its ownmessaging You should not have it both ways

Facebook should have the courage to call China outand recognise how it is being used as a virtualwindow to promote Chinese state thinking

If Ofcom saw fit to ban CGTN from the UK thenFacebook has a duty to act

5

Whos who of Chinese state media

CHINA is one of the most tightly controllednations in the world for the press - and is ranked177 out of 179 for media freedom by ReportersWithout Borders

Many of the newspapers and television channelsin China are state controlled and are given themission to promote the Communist Partyideology both abroad and at home

CGTN - The international division of Chinese stateTV which has somehow found itself as the fourthbiggest page on Facebook It has been accused ofspreading propaganda disinformation and hasaired forced confessions

The channel recently had its UK broadcastinglicense revoked by Ofcom much to the fury ofthe Chinese state who responded by banningBBC World News

China Daily - Owned by the Communist Partythis English language newspaper has beenbranded as a government mouthpiece as it alsospreads disinformation

The newspaper has also been condemned for itsportrayal of Uyghur Muslims including a reportthat brutal policies enacted by the regime hademancipated the minority peoples womenfrom being baby making machines

The Global Times - Often seen as the unfilteredmouthpiece of the Communist Party this fierytabloid pulls no punches in its aggressive rhetoric- taking on anyone who stands in the way of theregime

It is known for the its vicious editorials whichoften take aim a Chinas international rivals and

Hannah Bailey a doctoral candidate at the OxfordInternet Institute (OII) told The Sun Online theysuspect a large amount of the followers on theseFacebook pages are inauthentic users such as bots

Ms Bailey explained the colossal follower counts helpgive the pages gravity and draw in more real userswho can then be exposed to Chinas narratives

She said Its very hard to confirm a bot but westrongly suspect a lot of these followers andengagers are bot accounts which amplify themessaging of the Chinese state so its reaches realusers

The more followers these platforms have the morethese outlets will be recommended to other peoplewho will receive their message Its a tool by theChinese state

The OII produced a paper last year which revealedhow Chinese state media had massively pushed itsnarrative on Covid gaining millions of views andvastly outperforming Western media outlets

more recently has been spreading doubts overthe Pfzier vaccine

Peoples Daily - Much more subdued than theGlobal Times this newspaper puts on no airsabout being the voice of the Communist Party

The US State Department last year declared theoutlet a foreign mission as it ordered it discloseinformation about it operation

Xinhua News Agency - With 170 foreign bureausXinhua is one of the worlds largest newsagencies - yet works under the control of theChinese state

It ordered to register as a foreign agent in 2018by the US but failed to do so - and was alsodeclared a foreign mission in 2020

China spread conspiracy theories including that thevirus may have been deployed by the US military inWuhan and claims that the virus may have actuallyoriginated in Italy

More recently - Chinese state media has been sharingfalsehoods about the Pfizer vaccine whilesimultaneously promoting its own jabs

China is one of worst countries in the world for thefreedom of the press Credit Alamy

Theresa Payton the first female chief intelligenceofficer at the White House CEO of FortaliceSolutions told The Sun Online It is highly likely thatsome of the followers are legitimate but there couldbe a large percentage that are fake personas andbots managed by artificial intelligence algorithms

China denies conducting such campaigns butresearch continues to reveal that they leverage themanipulation playbook using various truths in theirnews organizations repurposed news adding twistsand disinformation setting up fictionalorganizations fake personas chatbots and artificialintelligence

China actively engages in public-opinion guidancemanagement What you and I would callmisinformation disinformation and manipulationcampaigns

5

campaignsThey manipulate both their own citizens and theirglobal image through these campaigns

Chinese state TV has an audience of millions across theworld Credit Getty Images - Getty

Dr Tim Stevens the head of the Cyber SecurityResearch Group at Kings College London told TheSun Online the incredible presence China has onFacebook is almost certainly inflated with bots andtroll accounts

But he added a large number may be genuineChinese users who accessing the pages via VPNs -with China choosing to exploit this through theirslick state media rather than cracking down onthem

Dr Stevens said It is trying to discredit the West Tobe a world power you have to have a voice in worldaffairs

He added Chinese state media is used to soften upopinions all over the world - trying to put a Chineseflavoured set of content there is a lot of it and thereseems to be an audience for it

Gray Sergeant a research fellow from the AsianStudies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society told TheSun Online The aim is to shape attitudes towards

5

the communist party and thinking about Chinarsquosplace in the world

He added China has a track record of buying socialmedia ads and paying internet trolls to push itspropaganda

However more worrying still is the possibility thatthese huge numbers are in fact real people and theresult of Chinese Communist Partyrsquos enormousefforts to re-shape the global media landscape

CGTN has the fourth largest Facebook following in theworld Credit Alamy

China has used its state media to push its narrative aboutCovid Credit AFP or licensors

5

5

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

Whos who of Chinese state media

CHINA is one of the most tightly controllednations in the world for the press - and is ranked177 out of 179 for media freedom by ReportersWithout Borders

Many of the newspapers and television channelsin China are state controlled and are given themission to promote the Communist Partyideology both abroad and at home

CGTN - The international division of Chinese stateTV which has somehow found itself as the fourthbiggest page on Facebook It has been accused ofspreading propaganda disinformation and hasaired forced confessions

The channel recently had its UK broadcastinglicense revoked by Ofcom much to the fury ofthe Chinese state who responded by banningBBC World News

China Daily - Owned by the Communist Partythis English language newspaper has beenbranded as a government mouthpiece as it alsospreads disinformation

The newspaper has also been condemned for itsportrayal of Uyghur Muslims including a reportthat brutal policies enacted by the regime hademancipated the minority peoples womenfrom being baby making machines

The Global Times - Often seen as the unfilteredmouthpiece of the Communist Party this fierytabloid pulls no punches in its aggressive rhetoric- taking on anyone who stands in the way of theregime

It is known for the its vicious editorials whichoften take aim a Chinas international rivals and

Hannah Bailey a doctoral candidate at the OxfordInternet Institute (OII) told The Sun Online theysuspect a large amount of the followers on theseFacebook pages are inauthentic users such as bots

Ms Bailey explained the colossal follower counts helpgive the pages gravity and draw in more real userswho can then be exposed to Chinas narratives

She said Its very hard to confirm a bot but westrongly suspect a lot of these followers andengagers are bot accounts which amplify themessaging of the Chinese state so its reaches realusers

The more followers these platforms have the morethese outlets will be recommended to other peoplewho will receive their message Its a tool by theChinese state

The OII produced a paper last year which revealedhow Chinese state media had massively pushed itsnarrative on Covid gaining millions of views andvastly outperforming Western media outlets

more recently has been spreading doubts overthe Pfzier vaccine

Peoples Daily - Much more subdued than theGlobal Times this newspaper puts on no airsabout being the voice of the Communist Party

The US State Department last year declared theoutlet a foreign mission as it ordered it discloseinformation about it operation

Xinhua News Agency - With 170 foreign bureausXinhua is one of the worlds largest newsagencies - yet works under the control of theChinese state

It ordered to register as a foreign agent in 2018by the US but failed to do so - and was alsodeclared a foreign mission in 2020

China spread conspiracy theories including that thevirus may have been deployed by the US military inWuhan and claims that the virus may have actuallyoriginated in Italy

More recently - Chinese state media has been sharingfalsehoods about the Pfizer vaccine whilesimultaneously promoting its own jabs

China is one of worst countries in the world for thefreedom of the press Credit Alamy

Theresa Payton the first female chief intelligenceofficer at the White House CEO of FortaliceSolutions told The Sun Online It is highly likely thatsome of the followers are legitimate but there couldbe a large percentage that are fake personas andbots managed by artificial intelligence algorithms

China denies conducting such campaigns butresearch continues to reveal that they leverage themanipulation playbook using various truths in theirnews organizations repurposed news adding twistsand disinformation setting up fictionalorganizations fake personas chatbots and artificialintelligence

China actively engages in public-opinion guidancemanagement What you and I would callmisinformation disinformation and manipulationcampaigns

5

campaignsThey manipulate both their own citizens and theirglobal image through these campaigns

Chinese state TV has an audience of millions across theworld Credit Getty Images - Getty

Dr Tim Stevens the head of the Cyber SecurityResearch Group at Kings College London told TheSun Online the incredible presence China has onFacebook is almost certainly inflated with bots andtroll accounts

But he added a large number may be genuineChinese users who accessing the pages via VPNs -with China choosing to exploit this through theirslick state media rather than cracking down onthem

Dr Stevens said It is trying to discredit the West Tobe a world power you have to have a voice in worldaffairs

He added Chinese state media is used to soften upopinions all over the world - trying to put a Chineseflavoured set of content there is a lot of it and thereseems to be an audience for it

Gray Sergeant a research fellow from the AsianStudies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society told TheSun Online The aim is to shape attitudes towards

5

the communist party and thinking about Chinarsquosplace in the world

He added China has a track record of buying socialmedia ads and paying internet trolls to push itspropaganda

However more worrying still is the possibility thatthese huge numbers are in fact real people and theresult of Chinese Communist Partyrsquos enormousefforts to re-shape the global media landscape

CGTN has the fourth largest Facebook following in theworld Credit Alamy

China has used its state media to push its narrative aboutCovid Credit AFP or licensors

5

5

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

Hannah Bailey a doctoral candidate at the OxfordInternet Institute (OII) told The Sun Online theysuspect a large amount of the followers on theseFacebook pages are inauthentic users such as bots

Ms Bailey explained the colossal follower counts helpgive the pages gravity and draw in more real userswho can then be exposed to Chinas narratives

She said Its very hard to confirm a bot but westrongly suspect a lot of these followers andengagers are bot accounts which amplify themessaging of the Chinese state so its reaches realusers

The more followers these platforms have the morethese outlets will be recommended to other peoplewho will receive their message Its a tool by theChinese state

The OII produced a paper last year which revealedhow Chinese state media had massively pushed itsnarrative on Covid gaining millions of views andvastly outperforming Western media outlets

more recently has been spreading doubts overthe Pfzier vaccine

Peoples Daily - Much more subdued than theGlobal Times this newspaper puts on no airsabout being the voice of the Communist Party

The US State Department last year declared theoutlet a foreign mission as it ordered it discloseinformation about it operation

Xinhua News Agency - With 170 foreign bureausXinhua is one of the worlds largest newsagencies - yet works under the control of theChinese state

It ordered to register as a foreign agent in 2018by the US but failed to do so - and was alsodeclared a foreign mission in 2020

China spread conspiracy theories including that thevirus may have been deployed by the US military inWuhan and claims that the virus may have actuallyoriginated in Italy

More recently - Chinese state media has been sharingfalsehoods about the Pfizer vaccine whilesimultaneously promoting its own jabs

China is one of worst countries in the world for thefreedom of the press Credit Alamy

Theresa Payton the first female chief intelligenceofficer at the White House CEO of FortaliceSolutions told The Sun Online It is highly likely thatsome of the followers are legitimate but there couldbe a large percentage that are fake personas andbots managed by artificial intelligence algorithms

China denies conducting such campaigns butresearch continues to reveal that they leverage themanipulation playbook using various truths in theirnews organizations repurposed news adding twistsand disinformation setting up fictionalorganizations fake personas chatbots and artificialintelligence

China actively engages in public-opinion guidancemanagement What you and I would callmisinformation disinformation and manipulationcampaigns

5

campaignsThey manipulate both their own citizens and theirglobal image through these campaigns

Chinese state TV has an audience of millions across theworld Credit Getty Images - Getty

Dr Tim Stevens the head of the Cyber SecurityResearch Group at Kings College London told TheSun Online the incredible presence China has onFacebook is almost certainly inflated with bots andtroll accounts

But he added a large number may be genuineChinese users who accessing the pages via VPNs -with China choosing to exploit this through theirslick state media rather than cracking down onthem

Dr Stevens said It is trying to discredit the West Tobe a world power you have to have a voice in worldaffairs

He added Chinese state media is used to soften upopinions all over the world - trying to put a Chineseflavoured set of content there is a lot of it and thereseems to be an audience for it

Gray Sergeant a research fellow from the AsianStudies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society told TheSun Online The aim is to shape attitudes towards

5

the communist party and thinking about Chinarsquosplace in the world

He added China has a track record of buying socialmedia ads and paying internet trolls to push itspropaganda

However more worrying still is the possibility thatthese huge numbers are in fact real people and theresult of Chinese Communist Partyrsquos enormousefforts to re-shape the global media landscape

CGTN has the fourth largest Facebook following in theworld Credit Alamy

China has used its state media to push its narrative aboutCovid Credit AFP or licensors

5

5

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

China spread conspiracy theories including that thevirus may have been deployed by the US military inWuhan and claims that the virus may have actuallyoriginated in Italy

More recently - Chinese state media has been sharingfalsehoods about the Pfizer vaccine whilesimultaneously promoting its own jabs

China is one of worst countries in the world for thefreedom of the press Credit Alamy

Theresa Payton the first female chief intelligenceofficer at the White House CEO of FortaliceSolutions told The Sun Online It is highly likely thatsome of the followers are legitimate but there couldbe a large percentage that are fake personas andbots managed by artificial intelligence algorithms

China denies conducting such campaigns butresearch continues to reveal that they leverage themanipulation playbook using various truths in theirnews organizations repurposed news adding twistsand disinformation setting up fictionalorganizations fake personas chatbots and artificialintelligence

China actively engages in public-opinion guidancemanagement What you and I would callmisinformation disinformation and manipulationcampaigns

5

campaignsThey manipulate both their own citizens and theirglobal image through these campaigns

Chinese state TV has an audience of millions across theworld Credit Getty Images - Getty

Dr Tim Stevens the head of the Cyber SecurityResearch Group at Kings College London told TheSun Online the incredible presence China has onFacebook is almost certainly inflated with bots andtroll accounts

But he added a large number may be genuineChinese users who accessing the pages via VPNs -with China choosing to exploit this through theirslick state media rather than cracking down onthem

Dr Stevens said It is trying to discredit the West Tobe a world power you have to have a voice in worldaffairs

He added Chinese state media is used to soften upopinions all over the world - trying to put a Chineseflavoured set of content there is a lot of it and thereseems to be an audience for it

Gray Sergeant a research fellow from the AsianStudies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society told TheSun Online The aim is to shape attitudes towards

5

the communist party and thinking about Chinarsquosplace in the world

He added China has a track record of buying socialmedia ads and paying internet trolls to push itspropaganda

However more worrying still is the possibility thatthese huge numbers are in fact real people and theresult of Chinese Communist Partyrsquos enormousefforts to re-shape the global media landscape

CGTN has the fourth largest Facebook following in theworld Credit Alamy

China has used its state media to push its narrative aboutCovid Credit AFP or licensors

5

5

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

campaignsThey manipulate both their own citizens and theirglobal image through these campaigns

Chinese state TV has an audience of millions across theworld Credit Getty Images - Getty

Dr Tim Stevens the head of the Cyber SecurityResearch Group at Kings College London told TheSun Online the incredible presence China has onFacebook is almost certainly inflated with bots andtroll accounts

But he added a large number may be genuineChinese users who accessing the pages via VPNs -with China choosing to exploit this through theirslick state media rather than cracking down onthem

Dr Stevens said It is trying to discredit the West Tobe a world power you have to have a voice in worldaffairs

He added Chinese state media is used to soften upopinions all over the world - trying to put a Chineseflavoured set of content there is a lot of it and thereseems to be an audience for it

Gray Sergeant a research fellow from the AsianStudies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society told TheSun Online The aim is to shape attitudes towards

5

the communist party and thinking about Chinarsquosplace in the world

He added China has a track record of buying socialmedia ads and paying internet trolls to push itspropaganda

However more worrying still is the possibility thatthese huge numbers are in fact real people and theresult of Chinese Communist Partyrsquos enormousefforts to re-shape the global media landscape

CGTN has the fourth largest Facebook following in theworld Credit Alamy

China has used its state media to push its narrative aboutCovid Credit AFP or licensors

5

5

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

the communist party and thinking about Chinarsquosplace in the world

He added China has a track record of buying socialmedia ads and paying internet trolls to push itspropaganda

However more worrying still is the possibility thatthese huge numbers are in fact real people and theresult of Chinese Communist Partyrsquos enormousefforts to re-shape the global media landscape

CGTN has the fourth largest Facebook following in theworld Credit Alamy

China has used its state media to push its narrative aboutCovid Credit AFP or licensors

5

5

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

Co d C ed t o ce so s

In a statement Facebook told The Sun Online ldquoWeclearly label media outlets that are under theeditorial control of their government including fromChina to help people better understand whorsquosbehind the news they see

We do not allow anyone including state-controlledmedia to post harmful misinformation and we willremove it as soon as we become aware

We also work with 80 independent fact-checkingpartners around the world to debunk false claims

Relations between the West and China remainstrained as the Covid pandemic continues to ravagethe world - so far killing 26million people afteremerging in Wuhan

Documents already revealed Beijing downplayed thebug to ldquoprotect its imageldquo and there have beenrepeated allegations that China has manipulated itsdeath and case figures

China is taking an increasingly aggressive stancethrough its wolf warrior diplomacy as it pushesback against the West

And questions remain whether Covid could haveoriginated from a lab leak in Wuhan with the WorldHealth Organisation ordering a fresh probe into theclaims

MOST READ IN NEWS

SCARRED FORLIFE Baby ampbrother 2 leftwith murderedparentsrsquo bloodiedcorpses for DAYS

TRAIN DISASTER36 dead anddozens trapped astrain crashes intotruck on line inTaiwan

CLOT FEARSAnother 25 bloodclots in UK afterAstraZeneca jabbut officials sayits safe

The Sun Online previously revealed a missing darkdatabase from the Wuhan lab which could be asmoking gun on key questions about the origins ofCovid

WHO mission finds evidence of wider Covid outbreakin China in 2019

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