Facebook said Tuesday it shut down more than 2,600 fake accounts linked to Iran, Russia, Macedonia and Kosovo and aiming to influence political sentiment in various parts of the world. It was the latest effort by the leading social network to shut down "inauthentic" accounts on Facebook and Instagram seeking to influence politics in the US and elsewhere.
Facebook said the accounts blocked in the four countries were not necessarily centrally coordinated but "used similar tactics by creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing," said Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy for the company.
"We are constantly working to detect and stop this type of activity because we don't want our services to be used to manipulate people," Gleicher said in a blog post. "In each case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action."
Gleicher said Facebook - which has made similar moves in recent months - was making progress in rooting out fake accounts but noted that "it's an ongoing challenge because the people responsible are determined and well-funded. We constantly have to improve to stay ahead."