Facebook has undergone a series of policy improvements to boost its defenses against disinformation.
Rabat – Facebook has announced the disabling of a network of Russian-backed accounts that praise President Donald Trump and attack former vice president Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 US elections.
The Russian-backed network has the same hallmark and follows the same strategy as the group that interfered in the 2016 election. In 2016, a Russian backed network manipulated public opinion by filling up the newsfeed with content promoting Donald Trump and tarnishing the image of the then-candidate Hilary Clinton.
The latest network to be dismantled had been using fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram in order to mislead public opinion and provoke social and political unrest. Facebook also disabled three misleading campaigns originating from Iran.
As part of the network, fake users on Instagram were posting content about U.S. politics and memes targeting Democratic presidential candidates. They also took advantage of sensitive topics, including racial and religious fault lines and LGBT questions to sow public discord.
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The social media company has undergone a series of policy improvements meant to boost its defenses against misinformation.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s latest efforts indicate the threat of “increasingly sophisticated attacks from Russia, Iran, and China,” but added he is “confident we’re more prepared now.”
Following the takedowns, Facebook implemented new regulations on owners of Facebook pages. Owners are now required to disclose more clearly the organization they work for and whether they are tied to a state-owned news agency.
In September, Facebook cracked down on a one-million-followers page called “I Love America” that posted pro-Trump memes but was actually run by Ukrainians. Facebook said that the page violated its policies on spam and fake accounts.
