More than 78 million Facebook users follow the page of the state-run China Daily, where they are served a diet of largely positive — and government-approved — stories about the authoritarian country. Not a bad fan-base, considering Facebook is banned in China. The huge — and growing — social media presence of Beijing-run organisations pushing a decidedly pro-China line came under the spotlight this week when Facebook and Twitter announced they had uncovered a naked propaganda campaign to shape global opinion on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.
