Dharamshala — The Chinese government-backed individuals from China used fake Facebook, Instalgram and X accounts as if they were Tibetans in exile, defaming His Holiness the Dalai Lama, disrupting or dividing the Tibetan community in exile by writing posts in English and Tibetan.
According to the Meta report, published on February 27 2025, fake Chinese social media accounts have been posing as Tibetans in India, Nepal and Bhutan, spreading misinformation about His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet, with the aim of discrediting the Dalai Lama and misleading people about Tibet.
“We removed 18 Facebook accounts, two Pages, four Groups and five accounts on Instagram from China that targeted the Tibetan diaspora primarily in Nepal, India and Bhutan across multiple services including ours, X, and Blogspot,” the report said.
The report revealed, “the individuals behind this activity used fake accounts – many of which were detected and disabled by our automated systems prior to our investigation – to manage Pages, post and amplify other people’s content. They used proxy IPs to conceal their origin and appear to be coming from India, Bhutan or Nepal. The operation created a handful of fictitious personas, including one posing as a journalist in the Arunachal Pradesh region of India. Most of the accounts posed as Tibetan expats.”
The report stated that the accounts posted mainly in English and Tibetan about news related to Tibet and its politics, including criticism of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, conspiracies about his travel and health. The report added that “This campaign frequently amplified anti-Dalai Lama posts by authentic voices including sharing links to websites like Storify News, Dakini Translations and Publications.”
The report states that an individual using two fake accounts was attempting to defame His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to disrupt the Tibetan community in exile by posting positive and negative comments in the Tibetan political debate. The report said, “We also saw examples of posting on both sides of the political debate at once where one fake account would post in support of the Dalai Lama and another would criticise him.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not only the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, but also a Nobel laureate and a beacon of peace. His compassion and peaceful personality are appreciated around the world. But the Chinese government targets him and spreads misinformation about His Holiness the Dalai Lama, trying to undermine his influence and reputation around the world.
This is not the first time that individuals supported by the Chinese government have spread misinformation about His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibet. They are also attacking Tibetan media and websites such as Tibet Post International, which write about the teachings and speeches of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the human rights situation in Tibet and how the Chinese government violates the fundamental rights of Tibetans, including freedom of expression and religion.
Meta also said that it had removed 13 accounts and seven groups in November 2023, that originated in China and targeted Tibetans in exile. They posed as journalists, lawyers and human rights activists using facebook and X. They mainly write in English and covered regional news, culture, sports and travel in Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh. The Tibet-focused accounts posed as pro-independent activists and criticised His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
