Facebook Removes 1 Network Based in France, 2 in Russia for Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior

Facebook removed three separate networks for coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of foreign or government entities: one that originated in France and two in Russia. Head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher and global threat disruption lead David Agranovich wrote in a Newsroom post Tuesday, “Each of the networks we removed today targeted people outside of their country of origin, primarily targeting Africa, and also some countries in the Middle East. We found all three of them as a result of our proactive internal investigations and worked with external researchers to assess the full scope of these activities across the internet.” The network that originated in France consisted of 84 accounts, six pages, nine groups and 14 Instagram accounts, and its primary targets were the Central African Republic and Mali, with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger also on its radar. The people behind the activity posted primarily in French and Arabic about news and current events, and some of them commented on content critical of France that was posted by one of the Russian networks detailed below. About 5,000 accounts followed one or more of the pages, while approximately 1,600 joined at least one of the groups and around 200 people followed one or more of the Instagram accounts. Examples of content posted by this network follow: Translation: The Russian imperialists are a gangrene on Mali! Watch out for the tsarist lobotomy! Translation: #Africa – The French Development Agency announces the launch of the initiative “Covid-19 – Health in Common,” of 1.2 billion euros by summer 2020, in response to the global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Translation: The Russians have prohibited the family of Bokassa from gathering at the tomb of the deceased emperor. What kind of disrespect is that? The first Russian network focused primarily on the CAR and also on Cameroon, the CAR diaspora in France, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa. It was made up of 63 accounts, 29 pages, seven groups and one Instagram account. This network posted primarily in French, English, Portuguese and Arabic about news and current events, with some commenting on content from the network detailed above that originated in France. Facebook said its investigation found links to individuals associated with past activity by the Internet Research Agency and entities associated with Russian financier Yevgeniy Prigozhin. Roughly 263,000 accounts followed at least one of the pages, while some 29,000 people joined one or more of the groups. No one followed the Instagram account. The network spent around $38,000 on Facebook and Instagram ads, paid for primarily in South African rand and U.S dollars. Examples of content posted by this network follow: Translation: Today is World Children’s Day, and I would therefore like to thank President Touadera for everything he has done for our little Central Africans. I hope that thanks to his efforts to restore peace to the country, our children and the next generation will have a better life than those who saw the Central African Republic being ravaged by the tyrants. Pray for that ???????????? Translation: “RCA-TRANSPORT: THE HEAD OF CENTRAL AFRICAN STATE, PROFESSOR ARCHANGE-FAUSTIN TOUADERA TAKES PART IN THE INAUGURATION OF BARC By centrafrik-infos Bangui on December 04, 2020 The Central African Head of State, Professor Archanges-Faustin TOUADERA participated in the inauguration of BARC after several months of work. Note that after the appointment of SANI YALO at the head of BARC, the image of this building which was once far from bearing the name “BARC” changed at the halt. Note also that before SANI -YALO is appointed at the head of this building, BARC has a revenue of 83 million and a debt of 3 billion CFA francs. But with SANI YALO, this building is rehabilitated and modernized with an order for several trucks (200) which will be delivered in the days to come … ‘The Central African Head of State, Professor Archange-Faustin TOUADERA has only one option, to give the chance to those who have the will to move the Central African Republic forward to update their thoughts on advancement. Translation: Central African Republic at the moment when the Central African opponents are calling for a transition, the ANE announces the arrival of voter cards available for the entire territory. And the second and final Russian network consisted of 211 accounts, 126 pages, 16 groups and 17 Instagram accounts, with content focused primarily on Libya, Sudan and Syria. The people behind the network posted primarily in Arabic about regional news and events, and Facebook’s investigation found individuals associated with past activity by the IRA. Some 5.7 million accounts followed one or more of the pages, while about 64,500 accounts joined at least one of the groups, and approximately 99,500 people followed one or more of the Instagram accounts. Around $186,000 was spent on Facebook ads, paid for primarily In U.S. dollars and rubles. Examples of content posted by this network follow: Translation: Page name: Arabic Today News Agency Both captions: “Lavrov shows that the American presence impedes Syria’s unity.” Translation: Page name: Latakia News “Establishing a Russian military post near the town of Ain-Issa to block the path for any possible Turkish attack.” Translation: Page name: Stop Terrorism Radio The spokesman for the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, confirmed Tuesday that his country is at war with Turkey, and that it is a real showdown exacerbated by the Turkish fool, Erdogan.

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Facebook Removes 1 Network Based in France, 2 in Russia for Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior

Ties to the Internet Research Agency were found in investigating the latter two

David Cohen

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David Cohen