Facebook deletes several propaganda accounts before US Midterms

Already in the US presidential campaign Facebook has identified many suspicious accounts on his platform. A few months before the mid-term elections, the group has apparently already registered similar activities. The "New York Times" and "Politico" report that Facebook has removed more than two dozen "fake" accounts. On the profiles had been specifically tried to influence the elections in November.

According to Facebook, the White House and MPs this week have reported incidents. According to reports, the blocked accounts are eight Facebook pages, 17 profiles and seven Instagram profiles. The accounts were created between March 2017 and March 2019 and reportedly reached more than 290,000 Facebook users.

In addition, the accounts reportedly spent $ 14,000 over a 14-month period. Thematically, the profiles dealt, for example, with the "Unite The Right" event. Last year, members of various right-wing extremist groups met with counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville. When one of the right people drove a car into a group of people, a woman was killed.

Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity on Facebook, said the activities are more than similar to those of the Internet Research Agency. However, this time, the officials would have made a greater effort to conceal their identity. Behind the so-called Internet Research Agency is a resident of the St. Petersburg propaganda company that allegedly influenced the presidential election campaign in 2016.

Same thing, there is no evidence that the accounts now discovered with Russian IP addresses in The connection would bring. However, there are links with the previous profiles of the Russian trolls factory.

As the New York Times reports, Facebook works with the FBI. US intelligence has warned for months that Russian hackers could influence the midterm elections. Gleicher announced that they would continue to work to detect suspicious activity.

In the November mid-term elections, the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are re-elected. They are considered the most important mood test for Donald Trump's presidency. The next presidential election will take place in November in two years.