Twitter on Friday said it had removed tens of thousands of “state linked” accounts used by China, Russia and Turkey to push their own propaganda, sow misinformation or attack critics.
By far the biggest network uncovered was linked to China, the U.S. social media giant said, comprised of a “highly engaged core” of 23,750 accounts that was boosted by a further 150,000 “amplifier” accounts.
The Turkish network was made up of 7,340 accounts while the Russian group was 1,152 strong.
All accounts and their content have been removed from Twitter but have been placed on an archive database for researchers.
In its analysis Twitter said the Turkish network was detected in early 2020 and was primarily aimed at boosting domestic support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party.
The Russian accounts were involved in “cross-posting and amplifying content in an inauthentic, coordinated manner for political ends” including promoting the ruling United Russia and attacking political dissidents.
