Facebook urged to suspend rumor-mongering accounts

Experts on Friday urged more efforts to scrutinize illegal cult Falun Gong’s manipulation of the media after Facebook suspended hundreds of fake accounts linked to the Epoch Times that used AI-generated bogus profile photos to spread rumors.

“I welcome this move by Facebook. I think [it shows] the Western media is finally waking up to the fake news that the Epoch Times writes. And hopefully, this is the start of Western media organizations realizing that the Epoch Times is just a cover for anti-China propaganda,” said Campbell Fraser, a professor at the Griffith University. Fraser has been harassed by the Falun Gong over the past three years after he exposed the rumors.

Facebook announced on December 20 that it has removed more than 900 accounts, groups, and pages from its platform for using fake accounts to mislead users. The banned accounts, groups and pages were associated with the Beauty of Life network, an offshoot of the Epoch Times, Forbes reported.

Epoch Media Group, the owner of the Epoch Times, is tied closely to Falun Gong.

These fake accounts promoted anti-Communist messages by fabricating rumors. Some posts also focused on the positive coverage of US President Donald Trump and his supporters.

Huang Chao, an associate professor at the School of Philosophy at Wuhan University, said that “Falun Gong, the cult, is very good at manipulating the media, especially new media, to carry out propaganda and smear China.”

If Facebook cannot deter the existence of these cults, it will certainly meet backlash, he said.

Rumors that slander Hong Kong police and distort the facts about Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are also being circulated widely on Facebook. Hong Kong police have requested the firm to remove posts containing unfounded allegations about their handling of riots in October.