Security News > 2022 > September > Meta dismantles massive Russian network spoofing Western news sites
Meta says it took down an extensive network of Facebook and Instagram accounts pushing disinformation published on more than 60 websites that spoofed multiple legitimate news sites across Europe.
This influence network mainly targeted Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine, and the U.K., with original articles arguing that Western sanctions on Russia would backfire and criticizing Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.
"The operation began in May of this year and centered around a sprawling network of over 60 websites carefully impersonating legitimate websites of news organizations in Europe," said Meta's Global Threat Intelligence Lead Ben Nimmo and Threat Disruption Director David Agranovich.
News outlets impersonated by this massive disinformation network included, but are not limited to, la Repubblica, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, and Bild, and Italian news agency ANSA. They would promote links to the article, as well as memes and YouTube videos across many online services, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, and LiveJournal.
Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 1,633 accounts, 703 Pages, one Group, and 29 accounts on Instagram.
Followers: About 4,000 accounts followed one or more of these Pages, less than ten accounts joined this Group, and about 1,500 accounts followed one or more of these Instagram accounts.