SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook said today that 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 an 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 the 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.
Relevant piece: U.S. social media network Facebook Inc. Monday removed 30 accounts from its namesake platform and 85 Instagram accounts for possible links to “foreign entities.”
Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Cybersecurity Policy at Facebook, said U.S. law enforcement agencies notified Facebook Sunday evening about suspected online activities by those accounts with possible connections to foreign actors.
“We immediately blocked these accounts and are now investigating them in more detail,” Gleicher announced Facebook’s measures in an “Election Update” post, which came less than 12 hours before polls open for the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday.
Gleicher said almost all the Facebook Pages associated with these accounts appear to be in the French or Russian languages, while those on Instagram seem to have mostly been English, with some focused on celebrities and others on political debates.
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service owned by Facebook.
“Once we know more — including whether these accounts are linked to the Russia-based Internet Research Agency or other foreign entities — we will update this post,” he added.
Facebook said its probe of the activities is still at a very early stage, and it was unclear who was behind those attempts or how long those accounts have existed.
The Menlo Park, a California-based social media network, disclosed on Oct. 26 that it had pulled 82 Pages, Groups and accounts linked to Iran to crack down on online “bad actors.”
With less than one day away from Tuesday’s polling, social media companies are on high alert for foreign interference.
Major internet players such as Google, Apple, and Twitter all have stepped up the fight against online disinformation efforts, with hundreds of fake accounts purged from their platforms.
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