Networks from Philippines and China taken down by Facebook due to misleading campaigns

On Tuesday, facebook announced that it removed two separate networks for violating its policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB). One of the networks originated in China and the other in the Philippines.

Photo credit: alkhaleejtoday.co

The social media company added that it was able to link those behind the Philippine network to the military and the police. 

In each case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts as a central part of their operations to mislead people about who they are and what they are doing, and that was the basis for our action. When we investigate and remove these operations, we focus on behavior rather than content, no matter who’s behind them, what they post, or whether they’re foreign or domestic,

facebook said.

Facebook found that network operating in the Philippines consisted of several clusters of connected activity that relied on fake accounts to evade enforcement, post content, comment and manage Pages. Facebook's Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher said the operation accelerated between 2019 and 2020. 

The network posted in both English and Filipino about local news which included the following topics: 

• local news and events including domestic politics
• military activities against terrorism
• the anti-terrorism bill
• criticism of communism
• youth activists and opposition
• the Communist Party of the Philippines and
• the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

The Philippine network was made up of 57 Facebook accounts, 31 Pages, and 20 Instagram accounts which focused on a Philippine audience.

According to Facebook, some 276,000 accounts followed one or more of these Pages. About 5,500 people followed one or more of the offending Instagram accounts. The network appeared to have spent around $1,100 for ads on Facebook, which was paid for in Philippine pesos. 

Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to Philippine military and Philippine police, 

Gleicher said. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese network removed contained 155 accounts, 11 Pages, 9 Groups, and 6 Instagram accounts.

Facebook said activity from the network focused primarily on the Philippines and Southeast Asia more broadly, and also on the United States.

Facebook added the clusters of connected activity used fake accounts to pose as locals in the countries they targeted, post in Groups, amplify their own content, manage Pages, like and comment on other people’s posts particularly about naval activity in the South China Sea, including US Navy ships.

Facebook said about 133,000 accounts followed one or more of these Pages, around 61,000 people joined one or more of these Groups, and about 150 accounts followed one or more of the offending Instagram accounts. The network also spent about $60 for ads on Facebook, which was paid for in Chinese yuan.

It discussed a number of topics, which included the following:

• Beijing’s interests in the South China Sea-
• Hong Kong
• content supportive of President Rodrigo Duterte and Sara Duterte’s potential run in the 2022 Presidential election
• criticism of news website Rappler
• issues relevant to the overseas Filipino workers
• praise and some criticism of China

It also tried to discuss US topics, but focused less on this and gained almost no following. Topics included both support of and against presidential candidates, such as Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump.

Facebook's investigation added that it found links to individuals in the Fujian province of China.