U.S. social media platforms an accomplice to the rioters in Hong Kong

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language "Commentaries on International Affairs".

The social media platform Twitter on Monday issued a statement that it had suspended more than 900 accounts they believe were carrying out a state-backed operation "deliberately and specifically attempting to sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement on the ground." It noted that the accounts were just the most active part of a "larger, spammy network" of approximately 200,000 accounts that had been proactively suspended before they became substantially active.

[Photo: IC]

On the same day, Facebook released a statement that it "removed seven Pages, three Groups and five Facebook accounts involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior" based on a tip shared by Twitter. The Facebook statement noted that the Pages, Groups and accounts they removed "frequently posted about local political news and issues including topics like the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to individuals associated with the Chinese government."

The accounts, Pages, and Groups suspended or taken down had posted photos showing rioters smashing the windows and vandalizing the Hong Kong Legislative Council building, attacking police officers, illegally disrupting public transport services, and beating up a journalist. But they were treated as disinformation by the social media platform operators. Some accounts were suspended after posting only one or two comments criticizing the radical protesters in Hong Kong, or even for just liking a comment that criticized the protesters.

At the same time, the platforms have gone easy on accounts smearing the Hong Kong police, praising radical rioters, and vilifying China's government. And they've willingly ignored instances when rioters have used their platforms to organize radical activities. This selective clampdown is a double-standard with regard to freedom of speech, and it makes the social media platform operators accomplices to the violent rioters in Hong Kong.

This is not the first time these social media platforms have betrayed their principles of freedom of speech and neutrality. During Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, Twitter decided to postpone a planned upgrade to a server for 24 hours to facilitate a protest being organized on the platform that aimed to topple the Iranian government. This was praised by Hillary Clinton as being a model of American diplomacy in the Internet age, which shows that these platforms have long been a political instrument of the United States government.

In justifying their recent actions, Twitter and Facebook claimed that the accounts they suspended, and the Pages and Groups they took down, were backed by China's government. This underestimates the spontaneous patriotic sentiment of Chinese people, particularly overseas Chinese students. They are the ones voicing their support for national unity and calling for an end to the riots in Hong Kong via those banned accounts and pages. What Twitter and Facebook have done provides more evidence that freedom of speech, democracy, justice, and fairness are merely excuses used by some people in the United States in their efforts to manipulate the truth.