Facebook ejects fake accounts out of Iran

Facebook removed fake accounts, groups and pages that originated in Iran, the latest effort by the company to clean up its social network ahead of midterm elections in the U.S.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said it pulled 82 fake pages, groups and accounts “for coordinated inauthentic behavior that originated in Iran and targeted people in the U.S. and U.K.,” according to a blog post Friday.

Facebook stressed that it found no ties to the Iranian government and doesn’t know for sure who is responsible. The activity happened on both Facebook and its Instagram service.

The fake page administrators have been masquerading as Americans or U.K. citizens and posting about politically charged topics, Facebook said.

Facebook’s threat intelligence team, part of its new election-focused War Room, detected the activity a week ago. Given the imminent elections, the company said it took urgent action and shared the information with government officials from the U.S. and U.K.

“This is when people or organizations create networks of accounts to mislead others about who they are or what they’re doing,” the company said.

Facebook has been working to show it can help prevent interference in U.S. elections by other countries, after disclosing last year that Russia used its site to create political turmoil ahead of the 2016 presidential vote.

■ The company removed 33 Facebook accounts, 30 Facebook pages and three Facebook groups, as well as 16 Instagram accounts.

■ More than 1 million accounts followed at least one of these pages and about 25,000 accounts joined at least one of these groups.

■ More than 28,000 accounts followed the fake Instagram accounts.

■ The fraudulent accounts arranged seven events and spent less than $100 for ads on Facebook and Instagram.