Facebook Parent Meta Removes China-Linked Influence Network Pushing COVID-19 Disinformation

A woman holds a smartphone with the Facebook logo in front of a displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration picture taken on Oct. 28, 2021. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

An influence operation with ties to China used over 600 Facebook and Instagram accounts to spread disinformation on COVID-19, according to an adversarial threat report released by Meta on Wednesday.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it had in November removed hundreds of accounts on the social media platforms which worked to push false claims, including that the United States pressured scientists to blame China for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.