Facebook removed accounts, pages and groups for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior

Facebook removed multiple pages, groups and accounts that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram. The two domestic operations originated in the UK and Romania. No links were found between these sets of activities, but they used similar tactics by creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing.

These pages and accounts were taken down based on their behavior, not the content they posted. In each of these cases, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for the action.

Today we removed 137 Facebook and Instagram accounts, Pages and Groups for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior as part of a domestic-focused network in the UK. The individuals behind these accounts represented themselves as far-right and anti-far-right activists, frequently changed Page and Group names, and operated fake accounts to engage in hate speech and spread divisive comments on both sides of the political debate in the UK. Despite their misrepresentation of their identities, we found that these Pages, Groups and accounts were connected. They frequently posted about local and political news including topics like immigration, free speech, racism, LGBT issues, far-right politics, issues between India and Pakistan, and religious beliefs including Islam and Christianity.

Separately, we also removed 31 Facebook Pages, Groups, and accounts for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior as part of a network that operated in Romania and used a combination of fake accounts and some authentic accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing. The Page admins and account owners typically posted about local news and political issues, including partisan news under fictitious bylines in support of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). They also shared divisive narratives and promoted content hosted by several domains that present themselves as news sites. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our manual review found that some of this activity was linked to an individual associated with the PSD.

Read the full Facebook news release here.