Culture
Facebook and Twitter disabled networks that spread political misinformation to millions of users
At least 55 million people were exposed via accounts, pages, and groups.
Facebook and Twitter announced on Friday that they both came crashing down on several networks spreading misinformation. Both social media behemoths shared information with each other about accounts reaching at least 55 million people with political propaganda impacting the countries of Georgia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, the U.S.
Some accounts used were authentic while others leveraged AI to fabricate faces to hide behind.
What Facebook found — Facebook disabled two separate networks of propaganda: one affecting local Georgian politics and the other fueling pro-Trump sentiments.
The company removed several accounts, pages, and groups on Facebook and Instagram reaching 442,300 Georgians with misinformation. U.S.-based media company The BL was connected to Epoch Media Group, exposing a network of false information reaching about 55 million Facebook and Instagram users.
These accounts focused on the U.S., but also affected some “Vietnam and Spanish and Chinese-speaking audiences globally.”
What Twitter found — Twitter deleted 700 accounts used by the Epoch Media Group network in addition to 5,929 accounts removed for touting Saudi propaganda, made by Saudi-based social media marketing and management company, Smaat.
Exact numbers on how many U.S. users of these platforms were affected were not released, but these crackdowns show that these companies are being more proactive in the wake of 2016’s election interference.
