Facebook has removed “fake accounts” that were allegedly attempting to “interfere in the midterm elections.” In response, they’ve removed a total of 32 pages and accounts from Facebook and Instagram.
“We’re still in the very early stages of our investigation and don’t have all the facts — including who may be behind this,” Facebook stated. “It’s clear that whoever set up these accounts went to much greater lengths to obscure their true identities than the Russian-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) has in the past.”
Facebook said it has not been able to confirm Russia’s involvement. During the 2016 election, the Russian troll farm Internet Research Agency (IRA) was accused in an indictment of election interference. In its announcement, Facebook admitted it did not have all the facts on who was responsible for the effort, but said it was disclosing the fake accounts now ahead of planned protests in Washington, D.C. next week.
