Meta shuts down Facebook accounts impersonating legitimate European news outlets.
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This photograph taken on May 16, 2018, shows a figurine carrying the logo of social network Facebook in Paris. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)
The tech giant firm said that these fake FB profiles are part of a large Russian-backed network.
Facebook's parent company added that the fake Facebook accounts were created so that a pro-Kremlin view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict could be spread across the platform.
"You can actually sum up everything it was saying in ten words: 'Ukraine's bad. Russia's good. Stop the sanctions. Stop supplying weapons,'" said Ben Nimmo, Meta's global threat intelligence leader, via NPR.
Meta Shuts Down Facebook Accounts Copying European News Outlets
Meta considers the latest Russian-backed Facebook network as the largest and most complex FB operation it handled.
(Photo : Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
In this photo illustration ABC News reports on Facebook's news ban on Australian and International content on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Facebook has banned publishers an users in Australia from posting it sharing news content as the Australian government prepares to pass laws.
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The giant tech firm even claimed that it is larger than the one linked to the Russian government back in February, the period when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was starting.
Nimmo said that the latest Kremlin-linked Facebook network has more than 60 fake websites impersonating high-profile European news organizations.
Among the news outlets they copied are the Daily Mail, The Guardian, and ANSA (an Italian news agency).
Meta's global threat intelligence official added that the fake FB accounts imitated the news companies' web addresses, layouts, and even their bylines.
Giant Chinese Network on FB Also Taken Down
Aside from the newest Russian Facebook operation, USA Today reported that Meta also took down a Chinese network that is impersonating Americans.
The tech manufacturer stated that this Chinese operation is copying American Facebook accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Meta added that these fake Chinese-backed FB profiles were created to inflame gun rights, abortion, and other similar political issues.
Just like the Russian-backed network, Nimmo said that this Chinese network also aims to push pro-China propaganda to attack the United States.
You can visit this link to know more about the latest Facebook takedowns of Meta.
Previously, a strange Facebook glitch confused users as the issue spammed celebrity accounts.
Previously, Meta settled a million-dollar fine on Facebook's location tracking feud.
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Written by Griffin Davis
