Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
On Friday, Facebook and Twitter shut down a network of fake accounts that pushed pro-***** messages all while “masquerading” as Americans with AI-generated faces as profile photos.
In a blog post, Facebook connected the accounts to a US-based media company called The BL that has ties to Epoch Media Group. In August, NBC News first reported that Epoch Media Group was pushing messages in support of President Donald ***** across social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Epoch has extensive connections to Falun Gong, an eccentric Chinese spiritual community that has faced significant persecution from the country’s central government.
Facebook noted that many of the fake accounts used in the…