Facebook Blocks 115 Accounts For Alleged 'Inauthentic Behavior' Ahead Of US Midterms

Facebook has announced that it blocked some 30 accounts on its platform and 85 more on Instagram after police warned they may be linked to “foreign entities” trying to interfere in the US midterm election.

Facebook head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in a blog post on Monday.

The announcement came shortly after US law enforcement and intelligence agencies said that Americans should be wary of Russian attempts to spread fake news. The election is Tuesday.

“On Sunday evening, US law enforcement contacted us about online activity that they recently discovered and which they believe may be linked to foreign entities. We immediately blocked these accounts and are now investigating them in more detail,” Gleicher said.

He said that the investigation so far identified around 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts that appeared to be engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”.

Gleicher added that all the Facebook pages associated with the accounts appeared to be in French or Russian.

The Instagram accounts were mostly in English, with some “focused on celebrities, others political debate.”





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