Social media researchers say the group may be the largest and most sophisticated influence network in Southeast Asia. Andit is now playing a prominent role in the country's intensifying conflict with Facebook.
In Vietnam, where the state is fighting a fierce online battle against political dissent, social media "influencers" are more likely to be soldiers than celebrities.
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Force 47, as the Vietnamese army's online information warfare unit is known, consists of thousands of soldiers who, in addition to their normal duties, are tasked with setting up, moderating and posting on pro-state Facebook groups, to correct "wrong views" online.
According to a Reuters review of provincial-level state media reports and broadcasts by the army's official television station, Force 47 has since its inception in 2016 set up hundreds of Facebook groups and pages, and published thousands of pro-government articles and posts.
Social media researchers say the group may be the largest and most sophisticated influence network in Southeast Asia. And it is now playing a prominent role in the country's intensifying conflict with Facebook.
After being approached by Reuters this week, a Facebook source said the company had removed a group called "E47", which had mobilised both military and non-military members to report posts they did not like to Facebook in an effort to have them taken down. The source said the group was connected to a list of Force 47 groups identified by Reuters.
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