Facebook Inc said on Thursday it recently removed a small network of accounts operating from Romania that had been promoting President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign with stories about his support from conservatives, Black Americans, Christians and followers of the QAnon web of baseless conspiracy theories.

Many of the 35 Facebook and 88 Instagram accounts posed as Americans, and some managed Trump fan pages, but they ran afoul of the social network’s rules on what it calls coordinated inauthentic behavior. In addition to misleading people about their location, some account holders ran multiple personas with similar names that posted identical content.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/indonesia-asks-facebook-tiktok-and-disney-to-pay-10-vat-tax-reports-318797">Also read|&nbsp;Indonesia asks Facebook, TikTok and Disney to pay 10% VAT: Tax reports</a>

The network had a small reach, with only 1,600 accounts following the Facebook pages and 7,200 tracking the accounts on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

Facebook security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher said the company was unable to tell whether the Romanian group was motivated by money, ideology or government directive.

The nonprofit Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Lab said some pages only shared content from Trump`s page, while others promoted QAnon, which connects various theories around the idea that Trump is secretly waging a war against powerful Democrats who worship the devil and abuse children. The FBI warned last year that QAnon would likely motivate extremists to commit violence.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/facebook-employees-to-work-from-home-until-july-2021-get-1000-for-home-offices-318749">Also read|&nbsp;Facebook employees to work from home until July 2021; get $1,000 for home offices</a>

Atlantic Council Lab Director Graham Brookie said there were no clear connections to Trump associates or surrogates, and Gleicher said there were no obvious ties to established commercial players such as companies that sell "likes" and followers.

Facebook previously removed much larger and better-connected networks that supported Trump, including one connected to the Epoch Times, which was founded by supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and often criticizes the government of China.

Facebook said on Thursday it had removed another network that reposted content from the Epoch Times and other Falun Gong media in a follow-up action.

While smaller than the network in the December takedown, the new one had amassed more than 2 million followers by posting on topics including the Hong Kong protests, the coronavirus, and U.S. policy toward China, as well as posting animal pictures.

Other July takedowns dismantled a major operation aimed at politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than a million accounts followed pages in the network, which sometimes impersonated political figures.

Facebook said it connected the activity to Congolese political party Force des Patriotes.

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it recently removed a small network of accounts operating from Romania that had been promoting President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign with stories about his support from conservatives, Black Americans, Christians and followers of the QAnon web of baseless conspiracy theories.

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it recently removed a small network of accounts operating from Romania that had been promoting President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign with stories about his support from conservatives, Black Americans, Christians and followers of the QAnon web of baseless conspiracy theories. Many of the 35 Facebook and 88 Instagram accounts posed as Americans, and some managed Trump fan pages, but they ran afoul of the social network’s rules on what it calls coordinated inauthentic behavior. In addition to misleading people about their location, some account holders ran multiple personas with similar names that posted identical content. Also read| Indonesia asks Facebook, TikTok and Disney to pay 10% VAT: Tax reports The network had a small reach, with only 1,600 accounts following the Facebook pages and 7,200 tracking the accounts on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Facebook security policy head Nathaniel Gleicher said the company was unable to tell whether the Romanian group was motivated by money, ideology or government directive. The nonprofit Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Lab said some pages only shared content from Trump`s page, while others promoted QAnon, which connects various theories around the idea that Trump is secretly waging a war against powerful Democrats who worship the devil and abuse children. The FBI warned last year that QAnon would likely motivate extremists to commit violence. Also read| Facebook employees to work from home until July 2021; get $1,000 for home offices Atlantic Council Lab Director Graham Brookie said there were no clear connections to Trump associates or surrogates, and Gleicher said there were no obvious ties to established commercial players such as companies that sell "likes" and followers. Facebook previously removed much larger and better-connected networks that supported Trump, including one connected to the Epoch Times, which was founded by supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and often criticizes the government of China. Facebook said on Thursday it had removed another network that reposted content from the Epoch Times and other Falun Gong media in a follow-up action. While smaller than the network in the December takedown, the new one had amassed more than 2 million followers by posting on topics including the Hong Kong protests, the coronavirus, and U.S. policy toward China, as well as posting animal pictures. Other July takedowns dismantled a major operation aimed at politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than a million accounts followed pages in the network, which sometimes impersonated political figures. Facebook said it connected the activity to Congolese political party Force des Patriotes.

Facebook removes small pro-Trump network based in Romania

Facebook on Monday said it removed more pages, groups and accounts that originated in<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/russias-increasing-influence-in-cuba-stirs-ghost-of-cold-war-215866&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj94r7k9YjiAhUN7nMBHVHhDQMQFjAFegQIBhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Kru-6RGJ09WzhGhbiPfqg"> Russia </a>and were being deceptive about who was behind them and what they were up to.

The takedown at <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-bans-louis-farrakhan-alex-jones-and-milo-yiannopoulos-215520&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi17uz29YjiAhVM7HMBHY2TCHQQFjAEegQIAxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2FMLW39dJYpcdu5raIlnp8">Facebook</a> and its image-centric social network Instagram was described as part of an ongoing battle against "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" which has blocked numerous fake accounts from around the world.

"We found two separate, unconnected operations that originated in Russia and used similar tactics, creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing," Facebook head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in a blog post.

He added that the takedowns were based on the deceptive behaviour of those behind accounts, and not the content posted. Ukraine was the focus of 97 Facebook accounts, pages, or groups removed from the social network, according to Gleicher.

Fake accounts were used to operate pages and groups, spread their content and ramp up engagement, as well as to get people to visit an outside website.

Posts by the account typically involved local and political news; topics including the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the civil war in Syria, and Russian politics.&nbsp;Facebook did not disclose the identities of those behind the accounts.

Pages involved had about 34,000 followers each, and about 86,000 Facebook users had joined at least one of the groups. Only a single dollar was spent on a Facebook ad, which ran more than a year ago.

"We identified some of these accounts and Pages through follow-on investigations of the accounts and Pages we removed earlier this year ahead of the elections in Ukraine," Gleicher said.

"We have shared information about our analysis with law enforcement, policymakers and industry partners."

An additional 21 Facebook and Instagram accounts or pages removed focused on Austria, the Baltic states, Germany, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, according to the California-based internet titan.

Those accounts posted content related to political issues such as immigration, as well as religion and NATO, Facebook said. The campaign used fake accounts, impersonating other users, and amplified "allegations about a public figure working on behalf of intelligence services," Gleicher said.

Facebook on Monday said it removed more pages, groups and accounts that originated in Russia and were being deceptive about who was behind them and what they were up to.

Facebook on Monday said it removed more pages, groups and accounts that originated in Russia and were being deceptive about who was behind them and what they were up to. The takedown at Facebook and its image-centric social network Instagram was described as part of an ongoing battle against "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" which has blocked numerous fake accounts from around the world. "We found two separate, unconnected operations that originated in Russia and used similar tactics, creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing," Facebook head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in a blog post. He added that the takedowns were based on the deceptive behaviour of those behind accounts, and not the content posted. Ukraine was the focus of 97 Facebook accounts, pages, or groups removed from the social network, according to Gleicher. Fake accounts were used to operate pages and groups, spread their content and ramp up engagement, as well as to get people to visit an outside website. Posts by the account typically involved local and political news; topics including the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the civil war in Syria, and Russian politics. Facebook did not disclose the identities of those behind the accounts. Pages involved had about 34,000 followers each, and about 86,000 Facebook users had joined at least one of the groups. Only a single dollar was spent on a Facebook ad, which ran more than a year ago. "We identified some of these accounts and Pages through follow-on investigations of the accounts and Pages we removed earlier this year ahead of the elections in Ukraine," Gleicher said. "We have shared information about our analysis with law enforcement, policymakers and industry partners." An additional 21 Facebook and Instagram accounts or pages removed focused on Austria, the Baltic states, Germany, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, according to the California-based internet titan. Those accounts posted content related to political issues such as immigration, as well as religion and NATO, Facebook said. The campaign used fake accounts, impersonating other users, and amplified "allegations about a public figure working on behalf of intelligence services," Gleicher said.

Facebook removes more pages tied to Russian operators

Facebook Inc has removed a social media network in the Philippines for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour", and took the unusual step of linking it to a businessman who said he had managed the president's online election campaign in 2016.

Facebook said its investigation found that the online activity was linked to a network organised by a former chief executive of Omnicom Media Group Philippines, who it identified as Nic Gabunada, and said it had removed 200 pages of groups and accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

"The individuals behind this activity used a combination of authentic and fake accounts to disseminate content across a variety of pages and groups", Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of Cybersecurity Policy, said in a statement, dated on Thursday.

"They frequently posted about local and political news, including topics like the upcoming elections, candidate updates and views, alleged misconduct of political opponents, and controversial events that were purported to occur during previous administrations," he said.

Facebook said it had taken down the pages and accounts "based on their behaviour, not the content they posted".

Gabunada told ABS-CBN News that it was "unfortunate" that Facebook linked him to the questionable pages and accounts.

"If they will have to take down my account, it's their prerogative. On the other hand, they have to consider I'm not doing it for the sake of whatever it is that they're accusing me of," Gabunada said.

In an interview with the news site Rappler in May 2016, shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte had been elected, Gabunada said he had volunteered to help lead Duterte's social media team during his campaign.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said Duterte has only one communications group, the PCOO, and Gabunada is not part of it.

Duterte, a former city mayor from outside of the political elite, tapped into social media to help him win the 2016 election by a big margin.

The Philippines is due to hold mid-term elections in May 2019 that are seen as a referendum on Duterte's administration.

At least one of the pages taken down by Facebook was named "Duterte Warriors".

Another was named "Bong Go Supporters", referring to supporters of the president's longtime special assistant, Christopher "Bong" Go, who is running for the Senate.

Studies have shown that the Philippines at times has led the world when it comes to sending text messages, using Facebook, and posting selfies.

Filipinos in 2017 spent on average nearly four hours a day on social media, more than any other country, according to a 2018 report by social media management firms, We Are Social and Hootsuite.

Facebook Inc has removed a social media network in the Philippines for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour", and took the unusual step of linking it to a businessman who said he had managed the president's online election campaign in 2016.

Facebook Inc has removed a social media network in the Philippines for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour", and took the unusual step of linking it to a businessman who said he had managed the president's online election campaign in 2016. Facebook said its investigation found that the online activity was linked to a network organised by a former chief executive of Omnicom Media Group Philippines, who it identified as Nic Gabunada, and said it had removed 200 pages of groups and accounts on Facebook and Instagram. "The individuals behind this activity used a combination of authentic and fake accounts to disseminate content across a variety of pages and groups", Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of Cybersecurity Policy, said in a statement, dated on Thursday. "They frequently posted about local and political news, including topics like the upcoming elections, candidate updates and views, alleged misconduct of political opponents, and controversial events that were purported to occur during previous administrations," he said. Facebook said it had taken down the pages and accounts "based on their behaviour, not the content they posted". Gabunada told ABS-CBN News that it was "unfortunate" that Facebook linked him to the questionable pages and accounts. "If they will have to take down my account, it's their prerogative. On the other hand, they have to consider I'm not doing it for the sake of whatever it is that they're accusing me of," Gabunada said. In an interview with the news site Rappler in May 2016, shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte had been elected, Gabunada said he had volunteered to help lead Duterte's social media team during his campaign. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said Duterte has only one communications group, the PCOO, and Gabunada is not part of it. Duterte, a former city mayor from outside of the political elite, tapped into social media to help him win the 2016 election by a big margin. The Philippines is due to hold mid-term elections in May 2019 that are seen as a referendum on Duterte's administration. At least one of the pages taken down by Facebook was named "Duterte Warriors". Another was named "Bong Go Supporters", referring to supporters of the president's longtime special assistant, Christopher "Bong" Go, who is running for the Senate. Studies have shown that the Philippines at times has led the world when it comes to sending text messages, using Facebook, and posting selfies. Filipinos in 2017 spent on average nearly four hours a day on social media, more than any other country, according to a 2018 report by social media management firms, We Are Social and Hootsuite.

Facebook removes online network in Philippines over 'inauthentic behaviour'