A network of Instagram accounts operated from Russia has targeted Americans with...
LONDON/WASHINGTON - A network of Instagram accounts operated from Russia has targeted Americans with divisive political messages ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential election, with operators posing as people within the United States, Facebook said on Monday.
“We see this operation targeting largely U.S. public debate and engaging in the sort of political issues that are challenging and sometimes divisive in the U.S. right now,” said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy. The earliest accounts dated back to January this year and the operation appeared to be “fairly immature in its development,” he said.
Most of the messages plagiarized material authored by high profile conservative and progressive voices. This included recycling comments initially shared on Twitter that criticized U.S. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump.
Gleicher said the separate Iranian network his team had identified used more than 100 fake and hacked accounts on Facebook and Instagram to target users in the United States as well as some French-speaking parts of North Africa.
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