(Bloomberg) -- One of China’s most prominent state media outlets attacked Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. for closing accounts that the U.S. social media companies said originated in China and were attempting to manipulate news about the protests in Hong Kong.

The two firms had made the “ludicrous and irresponsible“ claim that the Chinese government was behind the “fake accounts” but failed to provide evidence, according to the commentary in the English-language China Daily newspaper. The piece called the action an attempt to “claim the moral high ground and abuse their monopoly positions to control information and stifle freedom of speech.”

The commentary argued for the right to share unpopular points of view, without mentioning that both Twitter and Facebook are blocked by China’s censorship system and cannot be accessed without special software. People’s “right to air them is protected and respected, as long as they are not harmful to others or society as a whole,” the commentary argued.

The article ends by suggesting the two firms reflect on “their inglorious record of being accomplices of the U.S. government in inciting revolutions” around the world.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: James Mayger in Beijing at jmayger@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net

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