KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian police have denied the bombshell allegations of being the mastermind of a troll farm that sought to promote the current government coalition and criticise its opponents.
In a brief statement, police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said they are gathering more information on the matter and will take Meta’s report seriously.
Yesterday, tech giant Meta in its Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report, claimed that close to 1,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as Facebook groups and pages, were removed for violating the platform’s policy against coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
According to the report, this network was made up of at least 596 Facebook accounts, 180 Facebook pages, 11 Facebook groups, and 72 Instagram accounts, with a cumulative total of almost half a million followers.
Additionally, the network was active across Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram and “posted memes in Malay in support of the current government coalition, with claims of corruption among its critics”.
On Facebook, in particular, the network managed pages that posed as independent news entities and “promoted police while criticising the opposition”.
The report also found that approximately US$6,000 (RM26,739) was spent on advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
Responding to Meta’s claims alluding to the government funding trolls and cybertroopers using public funds and resources for their political interests, DAP social media bureau chairman Syahredzan Johan called on the government to give a transparent and detailed explanation regarding Meta’s report on the troll farm operations.
“If the accusation is true, then it has exposed collaborative efforts in manipulating public discussion using fake accounts and websites for the benefit of the government,” he said in a statement yesterday. – The Vibes, August 6, 2022
