News
Hong Kong protests: Google blocks 210 YouTube channels over misinformation
Google said it has shut down 210 channels from its video streaming platform YouTube which uploaded content related to the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in an apparently coordinated influence operation.
Director of Google Security’s Threat Analysis Group, Shane Huntley, said in a blog post that the channels were disabled earlier in the week “when we discovered channels in this network behaved in a coordinated manner while uploading videos related to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
“This discovery was consistent with recent observations and actions related to China announced by Facebook and Twitter.”
Earlier in the week Twitter and Facebook accused the Chinese government of running a social media campaign to manipulate public opinion against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and taking advantage of social media platforms that are banned on the mainland.
Google said that it found
“use of VPNs and other methods to disguise the origin of these accounts and other activity commonly associated with coordinated influence operations.”
VPNs, or virtual private networks, are often used to circumvent geo-restrictions and censorship.
Some of the 936 accounts originating from China which Twitter suspended this week saying they were part of a state-backed campaign for allegedly attempting “to sow political discord in Hong Kong” also used VPNs.
READ ALSO: Ihedioha accuses Okorocha of stealing N1tr from Imo coffers
The moves by the social media giants are a rebuke of China’s attempt to shape opinion around the protests, as masses of Hong Kong residents have taken to the streets for weeks against what they say is Beijing’s creeping rule over the semi-autonomous territory.
NAN
-
News22 hours ago
Anambra govt arrests eight over extortion of N800,000
-
News21 hours ago
Police arrest eight suspected cult members in Ekiti
-
Education20 hours ago
Kaduna to relocate 359 schools over insecurity concerns
-
health20 hours ago
Measles outbreak: Adamawa records 49 deaths, 143 cases
-
Metro21 hours ago
Ogun landlord arrested for impregnating tenant’s teenage daughter
-
News16 hours ago
Protesters storm at Abuja police HQ, demand detained journalist’s release
-
Entertainment12 hours ago
TikTok bans account of Nigerian buried alive for 24hrs
-
Entertainment12 hours ago
Cardi B knocks TMZ over attempt to set up Ayra Starr