SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Facebook said Monday it had blocked
some 30 accounts on its platform and 85 accounts on photo-sharing social
network Instagram over concerns they may be linked to foreign entities and
aimed at interfering in US midterm elections.
The announcement came shortly after US law enforcement and intelligence
agencies said they had no indication of efforts to disrupt election
infrastructure but that Americans should be wary of Russian attempts to
spread fake news.
A study published last week found that misinformation on social media was
spreading at a greater rate than during the run-up to the 2016 presidential
vote, which Russia is accused of manipulating through a vast propaganda
campaign in favor of Donald Trump, the eventual winner.
“On Sunday evening, US law enforcement contacted us about online activity
that they recently discovered and which they believe may be linked to foreign
entities,” Facebook said in a blog post.
“Our very early-stage investigation has so far identified around 30
Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts that may be engaged in
coordinated inauthentic behavior.
“We immediately blocked these accounts and are now investigating them in
more detail.”
It added all the Facebook pages associated with the accounts appeared to
be in French or Russian languages.
The Instagram accounts were mostly in English, with some “focused on
celebrities, others political debate.”
“Typically, we would be further along with our analysis before announcing
anything publicly. But given that we are only one day away from important
elections in the US, we wanted to let people know about the action we’ve
taken and the facts as we know them today,” Facebook added.
Despite an aggressive crackdown by social media firms, so-called “junk
news” is spreading at a greater rate than in 2016 on social media ahead of
the US midterm elections, Oxford Internet Institute researchers said in a
study published Thursday.
Twitter said Saturday it deleted a “series of accounts” that attempted to
share disinformation without giving a number.