Twitter, Facebook Block State-Linked Accounts Made to Manipulate
The QuintTwitter's investigations traced the source of the coordinated activity to the Saudi-based social media marketing firm Smaat, which has been permanently blocked from the platform. Smaat was working for "high-profile individuals," Twitter said, and several government departments in Saudi Arabia, using automated tools "to mask the overall platform manipulation originating from these accounts." One dated November 11, 2016, showed a photo of billionaire George Soros -- a frequent target of conservatives -- and said Trump should put him "on the FBI most wanted list." Another from October 2016 showed a picture of former president Bill Clinton and said: "You don't even need these polls, Donald Trump won. Facebook said the effort originating in Vietnam was traced to the multi-language media group Epoch Times, which is linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, and a US media outlet called BL, which has been posting pro-Trump messages.