- Facebook and Twitter announced that they took down a network of Russia-linked accounts operating out of Ghana and Nigeria
Facebook and Twitter announced that they have taken down a network of Russia-linked accounts operating out of Ghana and Nigeria — which were targeting the U.S., according to Reuters. In a statement to reporters, Facebook said that it removed the users from both Facebook and Instagram for engaging in foreign interference. And those accounts were in the early stages of building audiences.
“Today, we removed 49 Facebook accounts, 69 Pages and 85 Instagram accounts for engaging in foreign interference — which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign actor — on Facebook, Instagram and other internet platforms. This network was in the early stages of building an audience and was operated by local nationals — some wittingly and some unwittingly — in Ghana and Nigeria on behalf of individuals in Russia. It targeted primarily the United States,” said Facebook in a blog post on Thursday.
Facebook explained that its investigation found links to an NGO in Ghana called EBLA (known as “Eliminating Barriers to the Liberation of Africa”) along with individuals associated with past activity by Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA), which has been known to be called a “troll factory.”
U.S. intelligence officials previously identified that organization as one that aimed to interfere in the U.S. presidential election in 2016.
Those accounts had created Facebook Pages that posted as nongovernmental organizations and personal blogs. And they were actively posting in Facebook Groups about black history, fashion, celebrity gossip, U.S. news, and LGBTQ topics. And those accounts spread negative content about police brutality and oppression.
Facebook head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher told reporters that the Russia-linked accounts attempted to create an NGO with real-world people working on the ground in Ghana in order to “build legitimacy for their narratives and use that to message out.”
Twitter pointed out that the accounts they deleted were created “to sow discord by engaging in conversations about social issues, like race and civil rights.” Twitter had removed 71 accounts.
