New Delhi: Twitter on Friday disclosed it has removed a fake network comprising over 1.73 lakh accounts that were linked to a state-backed campaign in China involved in a range of manipulative activities including spreading disinformation about the political situation in Hong Kong. The micro-blogging platform said that these were two interconnected sets of accounts. While 23,750 accounts comprise the core of the network - the highly engaged core network - approximately 150,000 accounts were designed to boost this content called the amplifier network.

"Despite the volume, the core 23,750 accounts we are publishing to the archive were largely caught early and failed to achieve considerable traction on the service, typically holding low follower accounts and low engagement," Twitter informed. Of the approximately 150,000 amplifier accounts, the majority had little to no follower counts either and "were strategically designed to artificially inflate impression metrics and engage with the core accounts".

In general, this entire network was involved in a range of manipulative and coordinated activities. "They were tweeting predominantly in Chinese languages and spreading geopolitical narratives favourable to the Communist Party of China (CCP), while continuing to push deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong," Twitter added. In total, Twitter disclosed 32,242 accounts to its archive of state-linked information operations � the only one of its kind in the industry � linked to China, Russia and Turkey.

(With Agency Inputs)