China runs co-ordinated fake diplomatic Twitter influence campaign

Beijing ran an army of fake accounts retweeting and reposting Chinese diplomats and state media in order to amplify government propaganda, according to an investigation by the Associated Press and Oxford Internet Institute.

The accounts, which impersonated users from the UK, Australia and other countries, were often nearly identical, created in batches, showed strong signs of coordination, and failed to disclose the fact that the content was government-sponsored. 

Researchers tracked nearly 270 Chinese diplomatic accounts in 126 countries, which collectively posted over 200,000 times.

The findings were seen to confirm Beijing's move onto Western social media platforms as part of a broader effort to shape global public opinion. 

The seven-month investigation found that much of the support that Chinese diplomats, such as Liu Xiaoming, the former ambassador to the UK, appear to enjoy on Twitter had been manufactured.

The Chinese Embassy in London did not deny the campaign's existence when asked about it.