[cnet] Facebook removes activity related to alleged Iranian influence campaign

LexRank Summarization

• Nathaniel Gleicher, who runs cybersecurity at Facebook, said the influence campaigns took aim at Facebook and Instagram users in the Middle East and South Asia.


• Facebook was able to find these accounts, groups and pages through an internal investigation, as well as with the help of other tech firms, including Twitter, which shared information it had found about Iran-linked accounts.


• The content in the fake accounts was material repurposed from Iranian state media, Gleicher said, but Facebook can't determine the motive behind the campaigns.

TextRank Summarization

• Facebook removed hundreds of pages and accounts originating in Iran that were designed to influence politics and public opinion in other countries, the latest move by the social media giant to combat fake news on its platform.


• The social network said Thursday that it had taken down a total of 783 pages, accounts and groups that were engaging in "coordinated inauthentic behavior," the language Facebook uses to describe misinformation campaigns orchestrated by people using fake or stolen identities.


• Misinformation campaigns are designed to exploit divisions and spread chaos in targeted countries.

Ref: https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-removes-activity-related-to-alleged-iranian-influence-campaign/#ftag=CAD590a51e