YouTube joins Facebook and Twitter, disabling accounts targeting Hong Kong protests

YouTube joins Facebook and Twitter, disabling accounts targeting Hong Kong protests


Google has announced that it has shut down 210 YouTube channels after it discovered that they were behaving “in a coordinated manner.”


The YouTube channels were uploading videos “related to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong,” and were said to be using a variety of methods (including VPNs) to disguise their origin.


Why would such a thing be done? Well, no doubt to influence public opinion.


And there’s not necessarily anything wrong with using social media to try to change people’s mind about a subject, but at the very least there should be transparency about who is behind the messages being posted online – especially if the protagonist is co-ordinating over 200 different YouTube channels. Often it is just as important to know who is saying what, as what is being said.


Google’s action follows similar steps taken by Twitter and Facebook.


Twitter said as it banned 936 accounts originating from within China that it had “reliable evidence” of a “co-ordinated state-backed operation”.



Twitter has been criticised earlier this week for running promoted tweets from Chinese state media outlets that expressed skepticism of the motives of the Hong Kong protestors.


Promoted tweet from China Daily. Source: BuzzFeed News

In response, Twitter h ..

Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.