FACEBOOK: NEW RUSSIAN ACCOUNTS SOW DIVISIVENESS
Facebook on Monday said it removed Russian-backed accounts that showed some links to the Internet Research Agency and in some cases posed as locals weighing in on political issues in swing states, an indication of the persistence of the tech giant’s disinformation problem a year before voters head to the ballot box.
The Internet Research Agency is the Kremlin-backed entity that sowed social and political unrest during the 2016 presidential race. Facebook described the network it disabled Monday as a “well-resourced operation,” focused on the U.S., “that took consistent operational security steps to conceal their identity and location.” It operated primarily on Instagram, which belongs to Facebook, and 246,000 accounts followed one or more of the Russia-linked accounts the company disabled.
In doing so, Facebook said it also removed three other foreign networks that originated in Iran. The social-media company unveiled a series of policy changes meant to fine-tune its defenses against disinformation, though Facebook left untouched a policy that allows political candidates to lie in their political ads.
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.”
Facebook’s announcements arrive two days before Zuckerberg is set to appear on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are likely to press him on the company’s work to safeguard U.S. elections from foreign manipulation. During the 2016 presidential race, Russian agents weaponized the site to spread falsehoods and stoke social and political unrest, aiming to boost President Donald Trump and damage Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Zuckerberg last week told The Washington Post the company is in a “much better place now” to stop such disinformation campaigns more than a year before voters head to the polls, citing the company’s investments in staff and artificial intelligence and its successes in other elections, including in Europe. Still, Zuckerberg cautioned the threat is never “going to go away,” pointing to recent disinformation campaigns from countries including Iran and China.
The lingering global threat became apparent again Monday. The fake accounts purportedly linked to the IRA — 50 on Instagram, and one on Facebook — sought to wade into divisive issues, including race and Confederate pride, and posted on both sides of the political spectrum, according to a report from Graphika, a social media analysis firm, which examined the operation.
The operation consisted of nearly 75,000 posts, mostly by Instagram accounts with relatively few followers, Graphika said. Only one account, which addressed environmental themes, had more than 20,000 followers.
A minority of the posts focused explicitly on the 2020 election, Graphika said. Several accounts voiced support for Trump, as well as for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a candidate for the Democratic nomination. The online operation aimed its fire at several Democratic candidates, including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
Almost half of the accounts claimed to be based in swing states, with a specific focus on Florida.
Facebook also said it removed a group of 93 accounts linked to Iran that tried to “masquerade as locals” to post on political issues, primarily targeting the U.S. Another network tied to Iran misrepresented itself as a news agency and posted on race relations in the U.S.
Along with the new takedowns, Facebook on Monday revealed a slew of fresh policy changes, include new requirements for owners of Facebook pages, which must disclose more clearly the organizations that run them or whether they’re tied to a country’s state-owned media. Additionally, Facebook said it would implement more prominent labels around debunked news and tougher rules to prevent voter suppression.