Category Archives: coordinated inauthentic behavior

UAE, Egypt, Nigeria cited as sources of latest information operations blocked by Facebook

Posted on by

Facebook has removed hundreds of pages and accounts spreading propaganda on behalf of marketing agencies in Egypt, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, in the latest takedown demonstrating how so-called coordinated inauthentic behavior is not just a tactic of governments. The company scrubbed 211 accounts, 107 pages, 43 groups and 87 accounts for engaging in information operations, according to a blog post Thursday from Nathaniel Gliecher, head of cybersecurity policy. Operators of the network relied on fake accounts to spread content, promote local news and generate engagement meant to increase interest in the UAE. The activity was linked to the marketing firms Charles Communications, in UAE; Nigeria’s MintReach; and a company called Flexell in Egypt, Facebook said. Facebook’s action was the result of an independent BuzzFeed News investigation that found the network after Facebook in August announced it had removed more than 350 pages and accounts operated out of UAE and Egypt. No more […]

The post UAE, Egypt, Nigeria cited as sources of latest information operations blocked by Facebook appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading UAE, Egypt, Nigeria cited as sources of latest information operations blocked by Facebook→

Latest Facebook shutdown involves hundreds of accounts misleading users in Ukraine, Iraq

Posted on by

Facebook announced on Monday its taken hundreds of accounts, pages and groups offline upon determining they were engaged in separate information operations with roots in Iraq and Ukraine. The company caught 244 accounts, 269 pages, 80 groups and seven Instagram pages that were used to mislead legitimate Facebook users about their behavior, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said in a blog post. Facebook has for months publicized its account removals, in which the social media giant scrubs pages deemed to be violating Facebook policy, typically by lying about their true location or account owner. The company’s general term for the offenses is “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Gleicher repeatedly has stressed that Facebook takes these actions based on apparent user behavior, not the content posted. In this case, Facebook removed 168 accounts, 149 pages and 79 groups for activity focused on Ukraine. People involved in this operation used fake identities […]

The post Latest Facebook shutdown involves hundreds of accounts misleading users in Ukraine, Iraq appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Latest Facebook shutdown involves hundreds of accounts misleading users in Ukraine, Iraq→

Facebook shuts down ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’ from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Posted on by

In the latest sign that fake accounts remain a popular tool for amplifying political messages on Facebook, the social media company says it has disrupted information campaigns emanating from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The hundreds of disabled accounts, groups and pages were involved in two unrelated operations, one originating in Egypt and the UAE, and the other in Saudi Arabia. The campaigns — which Facebook labeled as “coordinated inauthentic behavior” also included accounts on Instagram, which Facebook owns. Both campaigns used phony pages to post news in support of a political agenda, and both focused on countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Facebook said. The company linked the latter campaign, which supported Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, to the Saudi government. “We’re taking down these pages, groups and accounts based on their behavior, not the content they posted,” Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, wrote […]

The post Facebook shuts down ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’ from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Facebook shuts down ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’ from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE→

Facebook links Duterte campaign volunteer to 200 bogus accounts

Posted on by

Facebook says it has removed another 200 pages for misleading users about who was behind the content and for misrepresenting what the pages were supposed to achieve. This time the pages, groups and accounts were located in the Philippines. Facebook has tied the activity to a network organized by Nic Gabunada, a businessman who said he managed social media for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during his 2016 campaign. A bulletin published Thursday is the latest such update from the company, which in recent weeks has removed accounts from Iran, Russia, Moldova and elsewhere for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Facebook’s moves have been closely watched by political organizations, intelligence agencies, law enforcement and other entities with an interest in election security or information operations. The identification of Gabunada, former chief executive of Omnicom Media Group Philippines, marks a departure for Facebook, which says it removes accounts based on their behavior, but that it doesn’t have the capability […]

The post Facebook links Duterte campaign volunteer to 200 bogus accounts appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Facebook links Duterte campaign volunteer to 200 bogus accounts→

Facebook purges accounts for spreading hate speech, this time in the U.K. and Romania

Posted on by

Facebook says it shut down dozens of accounts, pages and groups intended to “engage in hate speech and spread divisive comments on both sides of the political debate” in the United Kingdom and in Romania. It’s the latest announcement in the social media giant’s campaign to reduce “coordinated inauthentic behavior” on sites that it owns. In a news release Thursday, the company said 23 pages, 74 Facebook accounts, 5 groups, and 35 Instagram accounts were affected in the U.K. sweep. A separate four pages, 26 Facebook accounts, and one group were shut down in Romania. “We didn’t find any links between these sets of activities, but they used similar tactics by creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing,” Facebook said. The company did not specify who ran the operations. The perpetrators’ general goal in the U.K. was political disruption, Facebook said, […]

The post Facebook purges accounts for spreading hate speech, this time in the U.K. and Romania appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Facebook purges accounts for spreading hate speech, this time in the U.K. and Romania→