Meta deletes 1600 accounts allegedly linked to Russian propaganda

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Sep 2022 20:04
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In pursuing its campaign to promote Russophobia, Meta is shutting down a network of pro-Russian fake accounts.

Meta deletes 1600 accounts allegedly linked to Russian propaganda

On Tuesday, formerly the Facebook company that is now Meta announced that it removed 1,600 "fake accounts" on grounds of allegedly spreading pro-Russian propaganda.

Meta, which got banned in Russia due to its permitting of Russophobia and extremism, said in a report, "TAKEDOWN BY THE NUMBERS. Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 1,633 accounts, 703 Pages, one Group and 29 accounts on Instagram."

It added that it took down "a small network that originated in China" over alleged anti-US propaganda.

"Our automated systems took down a number of accounts and Facebook Pages for various Community Standards violations, including impersonation and inauthenticity," it said.

On March 21, Russia took to trial a request to ban Meta after the tech giant allowed the incitement of violence against Russians on its platforms. Posts that were calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko were left uncensored by the social network company.

The week prior, Meta had permitted its users to incite violence against the Russian armed forces on its social media platforms in light of Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine. On April 21, Russia imposed sanctions against Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg.

This is not the first time Meta promotes hate speech against a people. In the past, it has previously censored content of Palestinian rights activists and removed content documenting human rights abuses committed by "Israel" during the May 2021 Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Human Rights Watch accused Meta last year of wrongfully removing and suppressing content by Palestinians and their supporters, including content regarding human rights abuses against Palestinians.

Report: Meta restricts, bans Palestinian posts on its platformshttps://t.co/jonrjQgaS5 pic.twitter.com/sx1oMByK76
— The Inside- Palestine (@TInsidePal) September 23, 2022

The firm regularly ordered moderators to stray from standard practice and handle diverse graphic material from the Russia-Ukraine war with a light touch this year, according to previously unreported policy language obtained by The Intercept.

Like other American internet businesses, Meta swiftly implemented a slew of new policy carveouts in response to the military operation, especially allowing Ukrainians to continue posting graphic photographs of the war on Facebook and Instagram.

No such exceptions were ever granted for Palestinian victims of Israeli state brutality, and the sources don't indicate that any other suffering group was given a similar level of latitude.