Twitter said on Friday it had suspended thousands of accounts linked to a manipulation effort stemming from Saudi Arabia, in the latest crackdown on state-sponsored propaganda efforts. The social network said some 88,000 accounts being blocked were linked to Saudi state-backed “information operations” in violation of Twitter’s platform manipulation rules. Smaat was working for “high-profile individuals”, Twitter said, and several government departments in Saudi Arabia, using automated tools “to mask the overall platform manipulation originating from these accounts”. The researchers said “sophisticated state actors” from at least seven countries are working outside their borders on global foreign influence operations, using Facebook and Twitter. The report identified the countries as China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Source: The Guardian December 20, 2019 22:52 UTC