WEB DESK
Facebook Inc have acknowledged that it has become a battleground for governments seeking to manipulate public opinion in other countries and outlined new measures. It is taking to combat what it calls information operations that go well beyond the phenomenon known as fake news.
In a report and summary of response plans on its website yesterday, Facebook describes well-funded and subtle efforts by nations and other organisations to spread misleading information and falsehoods for geopolitical goals. The new efforts build on the company’s recently expanded campaigns to identify fake news and crack down on automated profile pages that post commercial or political spam. Facebook suspended 30,000 accounts in France ahead of last Sunday’s first-round presidential election.
In addressing the US presidential election as a case study, the Facebook team said fake Facebook personas had spread stolen emails and other documents as part of a coordinated effort, which US intelligence agencies have attributed to Russia. Other false personas pushed stories that expanded on that material. The report does not name any other countries.