Twitter is facing criticism from Republican lawmakers who want it to crack down on Chinese disinformation about the coronavirus.
Republicans say the company is not doing enough to address propaganda coming from Chinese government officials and agencies, according to The Hill.
The news outlet cited disinformation being spread by the deputy Director-General of the Information Department of China's Foreign Ministry, Lijian Zhao.
Earlier this month, Zhao tweeted a link to an article claiming the virus actually originated in the U.S. However, the World Health Organization has determined the virus first appeared in China.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that the Chinese government "wasted valuable days at the front end" back in November when the virus was first discovered by creating a "disinformation campaign."
And Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., urged Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to remove the Chinese Communist Party from the social media platform.
"It is clear that Chinese Communist Party officials are using Twitter to disseminate propaganda in the midst of a dangerous global crisis," they wrote in a letter to Dorsey.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has also criticized Twitter, saying senior Chinese officials are tweeting false information.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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