Facebook Removes Over 500 Pages From Iraq, Ukraine Over Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2019) US social networking giant Facebook has announced that it has removed over 500 accounts and pages originated in Iraq and Ukraine over coordinated inauthentic behavior.

According to Facebook, it has found no links between these two campaigns in Iraq and Ukraine, noting that they both used networks of accounts to "mislead others about who they were and what they were doing."

The company specified that it had taken down "76 accounts, 120 Facebook Pages, one Group, two Events and seven Instagram accounts for engaging in domestic-focused coordinated inauthentic behavior in Iraq."

"The people behind this activity used fake accounts to amplify their content and manage Pages � some of which were likely purchased," Facebook said, noting that account owners mainly posted about domestic political issues as well as US military action in Iraq, pro-Iran militias and others.

In addition, the social network "removed 168 accounts, 149 Facebook Pages and 79 Groups for engaging in domestic-focused coordinated inauthentic behavior in Ukraine." These fake accounts were used to "increase engagement, disseminate content and drive people to off-platform sites posing as news outlets," according to the statement.

Despite account owners' attempts to hide their identities, Facebook linked their activity to Ukrainian PR company Pragmatico.