WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2022) A network of Facebook and Instagram accounts were likely run by people associated with the US military and focused on audiences in a number of countries, including Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria among others, media giant Meta (banned in Russia as an extremist organization) said in a new report.
"We removed 39 Facebook accounts, 16 Pages, two Groups, and 26 accounts on Instagram for violating our policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior," the report said on Tuesday. "(O)ur investigation found links to individuals associated with the US military."
This network originated in the United States and focused on a number of countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen, the report added.
The operation of the fake accounts ran across multiple internet services, including Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram, as well as Russia-based VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, according to the report.
In September, Meta announced that it took down 1,600 fake accounts for allegedly spreading Russian propaganda about the situation in Ukraine. Also in September, Meta took down 81 Facebook accounts, eight Pages, one Group, and two accounts on Instagram that were allegedly related to China.
Russia designated Meta as an extremist organization on March 21 after the social media giant selectively lifted its rules to allow Ukrainians to call for violence and use hate speech against Russian "invaders," including calls for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
