Facebook Inc said Tuesday it had removed a network of inauthentic Chinese accounts that were interfering in Asian and American politics, including some that posted material supporting and opposing US President Donald Trump.
The social networking company said it suspended 155 accounts on its main platform along with six Instagram accounts.
The most widely followed accounts and pages were in the Philippines, where they shared content supporting China’s actions in the contested South China Sea and President Rodrigo Duterte.
The US accounts had fewer followers and posted content fueling both sides of the American election that will be held on November 3, the company said.
Facebook cybersecurity policy chief Nathaniel Gleicher said that the takedown was the company’s first of Chinese-based accounts on foreign-interference grounds with any engagement in US politics. But he…