Two networks running multiple Facebook accounts were
assigned to people associated with the Russian Internet Research Agency, and
the third had "links to individuals associated with French military,"
the social media platform said.
All three were removed from the site for breaking its policy
against foreign or government interference, Facebook said, adding that the
networks targeted countries mainly in north Africa and some in the Middle East.
The French military made no immediate comment on the
allegations.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, and
David Agranovich, head of global threat disruption, said in a blog that the
campaigns dueled with each other online.
"This was the first time our team found two campaigns,
from France and Russia, actively engage with one another, including by
befriending, commenting, and criticising the opposing side for being
fake," they said.
The networks "used fake accounts as a central part of
their operations to mislead people about who they are and what they are doing,
and that was the basis for our action," Facebook said.
The French network targeted the Central African Republic and
Mali, and, to a lesser extent, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire and
Chad.
It involved 84 Facebook accounts, 6 pages, 9 groups, and 14
Instagram accounts that violated policy against "coordinated inauthentic
behaviour."
Some of the posts, in French and Arabic, were about France's
policies in Francophone Africa, claims of Russian interference in CAR
elections, supportive comments about the French military and criticism of
Russia.
"The Russian imperialists are a gangrene on Mali!"
read a sample post shared by Facebook.
In disrupting the two Russian networks, the social network
removed 274 Facebook accounts and 18 Instagram accounts, along with an array of
groups and pages.
"We shared information about our findings with law
enforcement and industry partners," Gleicher and Agranovich said.
"We are making progress rooting out this abuse, but as
we've said before, it's an ongoing effort and we're committed to continually
improving to stay ahead."
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