Protesters in Australia took to the streets on Saturday demonstrating against the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

There were protests in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and other cities even as the country has reportedly carried out vaccination among 85 per cent of the population.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-of-australians-want-compensation-for-covid-vaccine-side-effects-report-429883">Also Read:&nbsp;Thousands of Australians want compensation for Covid vaccine side-effects</a>

The demonstrators hit out against COVID-19 restrictions for&nbsp;those who are unvaccinated although the protests were largely peaceful. There were also reports of pro-vaccination rally in some places with people urging citizens to take the jab.

Citizens in Melbourne had spent over 260 days under lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Sydney had undergone a lockdown lasting for 106 days as restaurants, pubs and cafes remained closed.

Watch: Emotional reunions at Sydney airport as Australia lifts travel ban

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/emotional-reunions-at-sydney-airport-as-australia-lifts-travel-ban-425869/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

All shops and schools had closed in June in Sydney as authorities allowed only essential services to continue with a ban on travel&nbsp;for more than five kilometres applied to residents as the country struggled to battle against the Delta variant.

Amid the protests, Victoria on Saturday reported over 1,600 COVID-19 with five fatalities. New South Wales reported 182 coronavirus cases as the country continues to grapple with the virus. However, Australia has one of the lowest coronavirus cases, according to the World Health Organisation(WHO).

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/life-will-be-miserable-for-unvaccinated-people-warns-australian-medical-chief-429185">Also Read:&nbsp;'Life will be miserable' for unvaccinated people, warns Australian medical chief</a>

The Australian government had imposed a strict travel ban for over 18 months in a bid to keep the virus at bay but&nbsp;last month PM Scott Morrison declared that citizens will be able to return home&nbsp;since the vaccination rate had reached over 80 per cent.

The Australian government had imposed the world's toughest border restrictions as it grounded flights and did not allow its own citizens to come back even as the&nbsp;department of home affairs rejected thousands of requests from its citizens to enter or leave the country. &nbsp;

The vaccination debate has spilled over&nbsp;into the Australian Open as tournament chief Craig Tiley insisted that all players must be vaccinated in order to take part in the tournament.&nbsp;

The country has so far recorded 195,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,933 deaths.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Protesters in Australia took to the streets on Saturday demonstrating against the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. There were protests in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and other cities even as the country has reportedly carried out vaccination among 85 per cent of the population.

Protesters in Australia took to the streets on Saturday demonstrating against the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. There were protests in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and other cities even as the country has reportedly carried out vaccination among 85 per cent of the population. Also Read: Thousands of Australians want compensation for Covid vaccine side-effects The demonstrators hit out against COVID-19 restrictions for those who are unvaccinated although the protests were largely peaceful. There were also reports of pro-vaccination rally in some places with people urging citizens to take the jab. Citizens in Melbourne had spent over 260 days under lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Sydney had undergone a lockdown lasting for 106 days as restaurants, pubs and cafes remained closed. Watch: Emotional reunions at Sydney airport as Australia lifts travel ban All shops and schools had closed in June in Sydney as authorities allowed only essential services to continue with a ban on travel for more than five kilometres applied to residents as the country struggled to battle against the Delta variant. Amid the protests, Victoria on Saturday reported over 1,600 COVID-19 with five fatalities. New South Wales reported 182 coronavirus cases as the country continues to grapple with the virus. However, Australia has one of the lowest coronavirus cases, according to the World Health Organisation(WHO). Also Read: 'Life will be miserable' for unvaccinated people, warns Australian medical chief The Australian government had imposed a strict travel ban for over 18 months in a bid to keep the virus at bay but last month PM Scott Morrison declared that citizens will be able to return home since the vaccination rate had reached over 80 per cent. The Australian government had imposed the world's toughest border restrictions as it grounded flights and did not allow its own citizens to come back even as the department of home affairs rejected thousands of requests from its citizens to enter or leave the country. The vaccination debate has spilled over into the Australian Open as tournament chief Craig Tiley insisted that all players must be vaccinated in order to take part in the tournament. The country has so far recorded 195,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,933 deaths. (With inputs from Agencies)

Thousands protest against vaccine mandate in Australia

Social media giant&nbsp;Facebook has&nbsp;removed a network of accounts from Russia that it linked to a marketing firm that aimed to enlist influencers to push anti-vaccine content about the COVID-19 jabs.

Influencers who caught onto the sham turned out to be the undoing of a deceitful influence campaign orchestrated by marketing firm Fazze in Russia, according to Facebook.

"The assumption was the influencers wouldn't do any of their own homework, but two did," Facebook global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo said while briefing journalists.

"It's really a warning,&nbsp;be careful when someone is trying to spoon-feed you a story. Do your own research."

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The company's investigators called the campaign a "disinformation laundromat," creating misleading articles and petitions on forums like Reddit, Medium, and Change.org, and using fake accounts on platforms like&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and Instagram to amplify the content.&nbsp;

Facebook&nbsp;said while the majority of the campaign fell flat, the crux of it appeared to be engaging with paid influencers and these posts attracted "some limited attention."

The California-based company&nbsp;said that in July it removed 65 accounts at the leading social network and 243 accounts at photo-centric Instagram that were linked to the campaign, and banned Fazze from its platform.

Fazze is a subsidiary of a AdNow, an advertising company registered in Britain, according to media reports.

The operation targeted primarily India and Latin America, but also took aim at the United States, as governments debated approving vaccines to fight the pandemic, according to Nimmo.

Late last year, the network of fake accounts tried to fuel a false meme that the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 would turn people into chimpanzees, Facebook reported.

After going quiet for five months, the organisers attacked the safety of the Pfizer vaccine and leaked what it billed as an AstraZeneca document stolen by hacking, Facebook said.

The campaign took advantage of online platforms including Reddit, Medium, Change.org, and Facebook, creating misleading articles and petitions then providing "influencers" with links, hashtags and more to spread vaccine misinformation, according to Nimmo.

"In effect, this campaign functioned as a cross-platform disinformation laundromat," Nimmo said.

Researchers have noted an increase both in "for-hire" influence campaigns and also in deceptive operations targeting real online personalities to deliver messages to these influencers' own ready-made audiences.

Facebook&nbsp;said it took down 65&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;accounts and 243 Instagram accounts as part of the Fazze-linked operation. It said 24,000 accounts followed one or more of the Instagram accounts. The company said questions about the campaign remained, such as who commissioned Fazze to run it.

Facebook&nbsp;also said in its Tuesday report it had in July removed a separate network in Myanmar, linked to individuals associated with the Myanmar military and targeting audiences in the country. It said the operation used duplicate and fake accounts, some posing as protesters and members of the opposition while others ran pro-military&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;Pages.

The social network banned the Myanmar military from&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;and Instagram in February, after the army seized power in a coup.

(With inputs from agencies)

Social media giant Facebook has removed a network of accounts from Russia that it linked to a marketing firm that aimed to enlist influencers to push anti-vaccine content about the COVID-19 jabs.

Social media giant Facebook has removed a network of accounts from Russia that it linked to a marketing firm that aimed to enlist influencers to push anti-vaccine content about the COVID-19 jabs. Influencers who caught onto the sham turned out to be the undoing of a deceitful influence campaign orchestrated by marketing firm Fazze in Russia, according to Facebook. "The assumption was the influencers wouldn't do any of their own homework, but two did," Facebook global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo said while briefing journalists. "It's really a warning, be careful when someone is trying to spoon-feed you a story. Do your own research." The company's investigators called the campaign a "disinformation laundromat," creating misleading articles and petitions on forums like Reddit, Medium, and Change.org, and using fake accounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to amplify the content. Facebook said while the majority of the campaign fell flat, the crux of it appeared to be engaging with paid influencers and these posts attracted "some limited attention." The California-based company said that in July it removed 65 accounts at the leading social network and 243 accounts at photo-centric Instagram that were linked to the campaign, and banned Fazze from its platform. Fazze is a subsidiary of a AdNow, an advertising company registered in Britain, according to media reports. The operation targeted primarily India and Latin America, but also took aim at the United States, as governments debated approving vaccines to fight the pandemic, according to Nimmo. Late last year, the network of fake accounts tried to fuel a false meme that the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 would turn people into chimpanzees, Facebook reported. After going quiet for five months, the organisers attacked the safety of the Pfizer vaccine and leaked what it billed as an AstraZeneca document stolen by hacking, Facebook said. The campaign took advantage of online platforms including Reddit, Medium, Change.org, and Facebook, creating misleading articles and petitions then providing "influencers" with links, hashtags and more to spread vaccine misinformation, according to Nimmo. "In effect, this campaign functioned as a cross-platform disinformation laundromat," Nimmo said. Researchers have noted an increase both in "for-hire" influence campaigns and also in deceptive operations targeting real online personalities to deliver messages to these influencers' own ready-made audiences. Facebook said it took down 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts as part of the Fazze-linked operation. It said 24,000 accounts followed one or more of the Instagram accounts. The company said questions about the campaign remained, such as who commissioned Fazze to run it. Facebook also said in its Tuesday report it had in July removed a separate network in Myanmar, linked to individuals associated with the Myanmar military and targeting audiences in the country. It said the operation used duplicate and fake accounts, some posing as protesters and members of the opposition while others ran pro-military Facebook Pages. The social network banned the Myanmar military from Facebook and Instagram in February, after the army seized power in a coup. (With inputs from agencies)

Facebook shuts down Russian network that targeted influencers to peddle anti-vax messages

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Thousands protest against vaccine mandate in Australia

Facebook shuts down Russian network that targeted influencers to peddle anti-vax messages