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    Wednesday, August 11, 2021

    Facebook Bans Russian Network for COVID-19 Vaccine Disinformation

    Facebook has removed hundreds of accounts which it says were involved in anti-vax disinformation campaigns operated from Russia.

    The company said the network of accounts targeted India, Latin America and the US.

    They attempted to recruit influencers to spread false claims to undermine public confidence in particular Covid-19 vaccines, it added.

    In its latest report on "coordinated inauthentic behaviour", Facebook said it found links between the network and a botched disinformation campaign from influencer marketing agency Fazze - which is part of a Russian-based company called AdNow.

    Hundreds of accounts have banned across Facebook and Instagram over a “smear campaign” spreading misinformation to discredit the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.

    A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts were banned after spreading misleading claims that disparaged the safety of the vaccines

    They include posts claiming the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine would turn people into chimpanzees, with memes using images from the movie Planet of the Apes.

    The fake accounts were part of an effort, largely targeted at audiences in India and Latin America, across Facebook and Instagram, as well as other platforms such as Reddit, Medium and Change.org.

    Facebook says the “cross-platform disinformation laundromat” was run by Fazze, a subsidiary of UK-based advertising and marketing firm AdNow, operating from Russia on behalf of an unknown client.

    The operation was exposed when social media influencers in France and Germany spoke out to reveal they had been offered money for reposting misleading content.

    Russia has been attempting to promote its Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V in international markets, but Facebook did not speculate on the possible motive behind the smear campaign.

    Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy, said: “Although it was sloppy and didn’t have very good reach, it was an elaborate set up.”

    He told a media briefing that disinformation campaigners were increasingly trying to take advantage of influencers to spread their message online.

    He said: “When these operations turn to influencers, they often don’t give them full context on who is behind it. And when influencers find out, they are eager to blow the whistle.”

    Facebook said that in addition to removing the network’s accounts, it had banned Fazze from its platforms.

    Requests for comment from Fazze were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

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