Advertisement

Facebook uncovers attempts to disrupt U.S. elections

Click to play video: 'Facebook uncovers attempts to disrupt U.S. elections, possibly linked to Russia'
Facebook uncovers attempts to disrupt U.S. elections, possibly linked to Russia
WATCH: Facebook uncovers attempts to disrupt U.S. elections, possibly linked to Russia – Jul 31, 2018

Facebook says it has uncovered “sophisticated” efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to influence U.S. politics on its platforms.

The company says it removed 32 accounts from Facebook and Instagram because they were involved in “coordinated” behaviour and appeared to be fake.

Facebook stopped short of saying the effort was aimed at influencing the U.S. midterm elections in November, although the timing of the suspicious activity would be consistent with such an attempt.

According to a Facebook official, the company held briefings in the House and Senate this week. The official declined to be named because the briefings were private. Facebook disclosed its findings after The New York Times reported on them earlier Tuesday.

Story continues below advertisement

WATCH: Graham tells reporters he will be introducing ‘sanctions bill from hell’ against Russia

Click to play video: 'Senator Lindsey Graham tells reporters he will introduce ‘sanctions bill from hell’ against Russia'
Senator Lindsey Graham tells reporters he will introduce ‘sanctions bill from hell’ against Russia

The company said it doesn’t know who is behind the efforts, but said there may be connections to Russia. Facebook said it has found some connections between the accounts it removed and the accounts connected to Russia’s Internet Research Agency that it removed before and after the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

The earliest page was created in March 2017. Facebook says more than 290,000 accounts followed at least one of the fake pages. The most followed Facebook Pages had names such as “Aztlan Warriors,” ″Black Elevation,” ″Mindful Being,” and “Resisters.”

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

WATCH BELOW: Trump backpedals, now says Russia did meddle in election

Click to play video: 'Trump backpedals, now says Russia meddled in election'
Trump backpedals, now says Russia meddled in election

Facebook says the pages ran about 150 ads for $11,000 on Facebook and Instagram, paid for in U.S. and Canadian dollars. The first ad was created in April 2017; the last was created in June 2018.

Story continues below advertisement

The company added that the perpetrators have been “more careful to cover their tracks” than in 2016, in part because of steps Facebook has taken to prevent abuse over the past year. For example, they used virtual private networks and internet phone services, and paid third parties to run ads on their behalf.

Sponsored content

AdChoices