Facebook says it erased false accounts in Russia, Pakistan and the US

The American social media giant said on September 1st that it deleted “a small network” in Russia consisting of 13 Facebook accounts, of those who were previously linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA).

US Special Adviser Robert Mueller, after a nearly two-year investigation, said the IRA tried to intervene in the US presidential election in 2016 through the use of false social media accounts.

Facebook said it began its investigation into the Russian network, following information on the activities of its members by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The network focused mainly on the United States, Great Britain, Algeria, Egypt, and other English - speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The IRA is owned by a person associated with the Kremlin, Yevgeny Pgozhin, who also finances Russian activities in Libya and Syria.

Two men linked to this agency were arrested in Libya last year. According to reports, they were making efforts to influence this country's elections.

Facebook said the network connected to the IRA created pages claiming to be news agencies, to appear more legitimate, but said their influence operation did not gain much support.

Facebook did not give any details about what the IRA-related accounts were posting, and whether they dealt with the 2020 elections in the United States.

American officials have repeatedly said Russia is making efforts to intervene in the 2020 elections through online campaigns.

Pakistan's network was much larger, consisting of 453 Facebook accounts, 103 pages, 78 groups and 107 accounts in the Instagram.

Accounts and pages were operated by Pakistan and concentrated in Pakistan and India, Facebook said, without providing further details.

Meanwhile, the American network connected to “CLS Strategies”, a Washington-based strategic communications firm, consisted of 55 Facebook accounts, 42 pages and 36 accounts in the Instagram.

This network focused mainly in Venezuela and also in Mexico and Bolivia”, Facebook said.