COVID-19: Facebook removes Chinese-backed network of fake accounts spreading coronavirus disinformation | Science & Tech News | Sky News

Facebook has removed hundreds of fake accounts linked to a campaign by China to spread unfounded claims about the pandemic. The bogus profiles originated claims the US pressured scientists to blame China for COVID-19 . An investigation found these claims were amplified by employees of Chinese state-run companies, soon becoming the subject of domestic news headlines. “In effect it worked like an online hall of mirrors, endlessly reflecting the original fake persona and its anti-US disinformation,” Ben Nimmo, who leads investigations into disinformation at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said. The social media company said one of…