China cried foul on Tuesday saying it had a right to put out its own views, after Twitter and Facebook said they had dismantled a state-backed social media campaign originating in mainland China that sought to undermine protests in Hong Kong.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, declined direct comment on the Twitter and Facebook moves, but defended the right of Chinese people and media to make their voices heard over the Hong Kong protests.
Twitter said on Monday it suspended 936 accounts and the operations appeared to be a coordinated state-backed effort originating in China.
Facebook Inc said it had removed accounts and pages from a small network after a tip from Twitter. It said that its investigation found links to individuals associated with the Chinese government.