Facebook cracks down on disinformation, hacked accounts in Ukraine
Facebook took down dozens of fake accounts and pages spreading misinformation about the Russian-led military invasion in Ukraine, company executives said Sunday, while also taking measures to combat hacking efforts in the region.
The misinformation campaign was spread by what Meta executives called a “small network” of 48 pages, accounts and groups operating in Russia and Ukraine.
The fake accounts operated fictitious personas across Facebook and Instagram, as well as platforms outside of Meta, including Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram, according to Meta’s director of threat disruption David Agranovich.
The operation targeted people in Ukraine and had less than 4,000 followers on Facebook and less than 500 followers on Instagram, said Meta head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher.
Meta shared information about the operation with other tech platforms, researchers and governments.
Meta’s investigation is continuing, but the company found links with a network that was removed in April 2020. At the time, the network was connected to individuals in Russia, the Donbas region in Ukraine, and two media organizations in Crimea that are sanctioned by the U.S. government.