Philippines military to check Facebook accounts of servicemen

MANILA: The Philippines military said yesterday it will review the social media accounts of service members after Facebook took down a network linked to state security forces it accused of “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”.

Facebook said it had removed two networks, one traced to the Philippines and another to China’s

Fujian province, for violating its policies.

The Philippines network involved 57 Facebook accounts, 31 pages and 20 Instagram profiles, according to Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at the social media giant.

“Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to the Philippines military and Philippines police,” he said in a blog post.

Activities focused on local politics, military operations, a controversial anti-terrorism bill and criticism of communist insurgents.

Philippines military chief Lieutenant-General Gilbert Gapay yesterday urged troops to comply with Facebook guidelines.

“The (armed forces of the Philippines) does not tolerate the uploading of fake news and fictitious social media accounts,” he said.

“This development also prompted us to review personnel accounts and remind them of our policies.”

Philippines police chief Camilo Cascolan said the official force

Facebook pages “remain compliant”.

The force adheres to “cyber etiquette and proper decorum in all public engagements, including social media”, he said.

Tuesday’s action by Facebook was the third takedown of suspicious Philippines accounts since 2018 when it stepped up an offensive against misinformation. – AFP