Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists

[Zorro]

Source: Washington Post

Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation Complete Headline

The social media giant acted against a small network of pages and accounts that directed users to a fake left-leaning news site called Peace Data

Facebook took down a small network of fake accounts and pages associated with Russian operatives that had recruited U.S. journalists to write articles targeting left-leaning readers on topics such as racial justice, the Biden-Harris campaign, and President Trump’s policies, the company said Tuesday.

The network of 13 fake accounts and two pages was in its early stages of attempting to build an audience, Facebook said, which the company argued was evidence of its growing effectiveness at targeting foreign disinformation operations ahead of the 2020 election. The actions emerged as a result of a tip from the FBI and was one of a dozen operations tied to the Russian Internet Research Agency, or individuals affiliated with it. The company has taken action on since the last presidential election, when IRA-backed pages amassed millions of views on the platform. The pages had about 14,000 followers.

“They’ve gotten better at hiding who they are, but their impact has gotten smaller and smaller,” said Facebook’s Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher, of the foreign operations.

In addition, Facebook also took down a disinformation network associated with a U.S. public relations firm that the company said had spent millions to target users primarily in Latin America. The firm had previously advised foreign clients that used Facebook, according to news reports.

Facebook said the Russian operatives created fictitious personas on Facebook to direct people to a new site called Peace Data, which billed itself as a “global news organization” whose goal was to “to shed light on the global issues and raise awareness about corruption, environmental crisis, abuse of power, armed conflicts, activism, and human rights.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/01/facebook-disinformation-takedown/

[Squinch]

1. Lol! Alternate viewpoint: "Facebook allowed a Russian operation recruit journalists to spread

misinformation about the election. Facebook allowed the Russian operation to collect 14,000 followers before Facebook took the Russian operation down."

[empedocles]

2. Realities

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Little Fish get caught, Big Fish swim right through unimpeded

This is a show trial, optics for the masses. It's like raiding a saloon while the Speakeasy never closes.

[rockfordfile]

4. Traitorbook had to be informed

[hedda_foil]

5. The Russian tell is right in their goal: "shed light on the global issues ."

There's a "the" in there that doesn't belong. Should be "shed light on global issues." Russians have the most trouble with using "the" before nouns. Either it's missing or an misused.

[TomCADem]

6. 60 Minutes: Justice Department officials say they have no doubt Russians interfered in 2016 election

Before Barr turned the DOJ into a pro-Trump propaganda outlet, the DOJ had quietly pursued indictments against the Russians who interfered in the 2016 election:

&list=PLI1yx5Z0Lrv7kbnJTYpGwTQviqo1rvz_6&index=5&t=0s

[BigmanPigman]

7. Fuckerberg's political affiliation is either with Putin

or with the "Me, Myself, I" Party (aka the GreedyOP). He certainly is NOT an American...he is more like an American Traitor.