Facebook, Twitter remove Russia-linked fake accounts

SAN FRANCISCO • Facebook and Twitter have taken down a network of Russia-linked fake accounts operated out of Ghana and Nigeria which they said targeted the United States.

Facebook told reporters on Thursday that the network, which it removed from its platform and Instagram for engaging in foreign interference, was in the early stages of building audiences and was operated by local nationals, some wittingly and some unwittingly, on behalf of individuals in Russia.

The social media company said its probe found links to a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Ghana called EBLA, or Eliminating Barriers to the Liberation of Africa, and individuals associated with past activity by Russia's Internet Research Agency, a "troll factory" based in St Petersburg that American intelligence officials say aimed to interfere in the US presidential election in 2016.

The accounts in the new takedown managed Facebook pages posing as NGOs or personal blogs, or posting in Facebook groups.

They focused on topics such as black history, black excellence and fashion, celebrity gossip, US news and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) issues.

They also shared negative content about oppression and police brutality.

A CNN investigation has found that accounts in Ghana and Nigeria claimed they belonged to people in the United States such as in Brooklyn or New Orleans.

One account posed in a Facebook group as the cousin of an African American who had died in police custody.

"This activity did not appear to focus on elections, or promote or denigrate political candidates," Facebook said in a blog post.

Facebook's head of cyber-security policy, Mr Nathaniel Gleicher, told reporters on a conference call that the network's technique appeared "to be attempting to create an NGO that had real-world people working for it on the ground in Ghana as a way to build legitimacy for their narratives and use that to message out".

EBLA's website says it is "a network of strong advocates of human rights" and that it "employs the cyber activism approach".

CNN, which visited the EBLA headquarters in Ghana, reported that Ghanaian security services had raided the group's compound last month. EBLA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Twitter, meanwhile, has characterised the accounts, many of which were created last July, as "attempting to sow discord by engaging in conversations about social issues, like race and civil rights".

Social media companies are under pressure to police foreign and domestic misinformation on their platforms, particularly since US intelligence officials said Russia used social media platforms for an influence operation aimed at getting Mr Donald Trump elected in 2016 - a claim that Moscow has denied.

Reuters reported that US intelligence and security officials this week were scheduled to tell Congress that Russian social media efforts were currently more directed towards stirring up social divides over issues such as ethnic group rivalries and tensions between police and local communities, rather than promoting specific US presidential candidates.

In a statement on Thursday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said: "The potential use of cut-outs on another continent meant to mask Russian connections is a startling signal that our adversaries continue to pursue new and inventive ways to cover their tracks and evade detection."

In this latest takedown, which was relatively small, the companies removed 49 Facebook accounts, 69 Facebook pages, 85 Instagram accounts and 71 Twitter accounts.

REUTERS