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The social network Twitter announced this Friday, December 20, having dismantled a network aimed at promoting the geopolitical interests of Saudi Arabia. Tens of thousands of accounts are affected.
In a message posted on its blog , the social network Twitter indicates that it has deleted nearly 5,925 accounts, at the heart of a network of 88,000 other accounts, also permanently suspended. This network was used to amplify messages favorable to the policy of the Saudi regime through aggressive activities, such as sharing or "likes" of a large-scale tweet.
Opinion manipulation and data theft
This network of computer bots is supported by the Wahhabi kingdom itself, says Twitter. The digital giant points out that the operation was led by Smaat, a digital marketing company whose website is now inaccessible. Her clients include several government ministries and high-ranking Saudi personalities. Riyadh for the moment does not comment on the case.
But beyond supposed attempts to manipulate opinion, the FBI is investigating the Saudi regime's use of Twitter to track down opponents. Two former employees of the American group allegedly took advantage of their position to access the personal information of some of them. Some link this alleged spying to the waves of arrests of academics, entrepreneurs and human rights defenders in 2017 in Riyadh.
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi also complained of threats he received from accounts supporting Saudi Arabia before being brutally murdered at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul.
Other Facebook operation
Less than a year before the presidential election, Twitter and Facebook communicate on the cleaning they are trying to achieve on their networks. The other social media giant announces that it has blocked manipulation operations. Facebook says it has ended two separate operations, including a pilot in Vietnam and the United States that targeted Americans with messages in favor of Donald Trump.
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