Security News > 2022 > November > Meta links U.S. military with covert Facebook influence operation
Meta has removed several accounts on Facebook and Instagram associated with the U.S. military, saying they were used as part of covert influence operations targeting the Middle East and Russia.
Meta says it removed 39 Facebook accounts, 26 Instagram accounts, 16 Facebook Pages, and two Facebook groups for violating its 'coordinated inauthentic behavior' policy.
The most successful of these Facebook pages had 22,000 followers; the more extensive group counted 400 members, while one of the banned Instagram accounts had 12,000 followers.
Meta found the inauthentic accounts after an internal investigation was launched following information by independent researchers at Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory, who published a five-year overview of pro-Western covert influence operations in August 2022.
The fake accounts used $2,500 in advertising on Facebook to ensure their disinformation content would reach more users.
Previously, in September 2022, Facebook removed disinformation networks from China and Russia, with the latter using a staggering 1,633 fake accounts and 703 Pages.