Twitter blocks Saudi 'state-backed' manipulation effort

Washington, December 21

Twitter said on Friday it had suspended thousands of accounts linked to a manipulation effort stemming from Saudi Arabia, in the latest social media crackdown on state-sponsored propaganda efforts.

The online service said some 88,000 accounts being blocked were linked to Saudi state-backed “information operations” in violation of Twitter’s platform manipulation rules.

Most of the accounts were in Arabic and aimed at “amplifying messages favourable to Saudi authorities,” but that some English language content was aimed at “Western audiences.” “Our internal analysis shows the network was involved in various forms of platform manipulation, targeting discussions related to Saudi Arabia and advancing their geopolitical interests on the world stage,” the Twitter safety team said in a blog post.

Twitter said it released details on 5,929 accounts which it called a “representative sample” of the 88,000 suspicious accounts.

Twitter’s investigations traced the source of the coordinated activity to the Saudi-based social media marketing firm Smaat, which has been permanently blocked from the platform.

Smaat was working for “high-profile individuals,” Twitter said, and several government departments in Saudi Arabia, using automated tools “to mask the overall platform manipulation originating from these accounts.” Some of the tweets in question date back to 2016 and appear to be supportive of President Donald Trump or his campaign. — AFP