Twitter cracks down on state media after unveiling Chinese campaign against Hong Kong protesters
Twitter will no longer accept advertisements from state-controlled media outlets, the company announced…
"We want to protect healthy discourse and open conversation," Twitter said in a statement posted on its website.
Twitter said the new policy would only apply to "news media entities that are either financially or editorially controlled by the state." While state media cannot pay for advertisements that would amplify their message, they will be allowed to continue posting on the platform. Twitter said the new restrictions do not apply to outlets funded by taxpayers, or independent public broadcasters.
The new policy was announced shortly after Twitter said it had identified a network of more than 900 accounts originating in China that "were deliberately and specifically attempting to sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement."…
It also came after BuzzFeed News and others reported that media outlets in China, most of which are funded by the state and tightly controlled by authorities in Beijing, had been buying advertisements on Facebook and Twitter that portrayed the protests negatively...
... Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters that "people will have their own judgments about what is happening in Hong Kong, and what the truth is."
"I think it is reasonable that Chinese media use overseas social media to communicate with local people, to tell stories about China, to introduce Chinese policies," he said… [Also referred to Facebook]