Facebook Removed 168 Accounts, 28 Pages, 8 Instagram Accounts in Moldova

Coordinated inauthentic behavior was taking place prior to the country’s Parliamentary elections

Parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova Feb. 24, and Facebook took steps to safeguard the vote in that country from manipulation via its platform.

Facebook head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in a Newsroom post that 168 Facebook accounts, 28 Facebook pages and eight Instagram accounts were removed for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior targeted toward people in Moldova.

The activity originated in Moldova, using a combination of fake accounts and authentic accounts to post about local news and political issues, such as requiring education in Russian or English, and reunification with Romania.

Manipulated photos, divisive narratives and satire were also part of the mix, as was impersonation of the page of a local fact-checking organization to call out other pages for spreading fake news.

Gleicher

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