Facebook Takes Down Russian Fake News Operation

The Washington Post reports:

Facebook took down a small network of fake accounts and pages associated with Russian operatives that had recruited U.S. journalists to write articles targeting left-leaning readers on topics such as racial justice, the Biden-Harris campaign, and President Trump’s policies, the company said Tuesday.

The network of 13 fake accounts and two pages was in its early stages of attempting to build an audience, Facebook said, which the company argued was evidence of its growing effectiveness at targeting foreign disinformation operations ahead of the 2020 election.

The actions emerged as a result of a tip from the FBI and was one of a dozen operations tied to the Russian Internet Research Agency, or individuals affiliated with it. The company has taken action on since the last presidential election, when IRA-backed pages amassed millions of views on the platform. The pages had about 14,000 followers.