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Facebook takes down Russian misinformation operation

01 September 2020
Dan Ackermann

Facebook took down fake accounts and pages associated with Russian operatives who sought to trick freelance journalists into writing stories on their behalf, the company announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: Facebook, caught off guard by Russian misinformation campaigns ahead of the 2016 presidential election, is trying to be proactive about weeding out foreign actors attempting manipulation on the platform before November's election.

Context: Thirteen Facebook accounts and two pages were found to be linked to people associated with Russia's Internet Research Agency, which interfered on the platform in 2016. Facebook worked off a tip from the FBI.

Details: In August, Facebook removed a campaign linked to the IRA it deemed to be "largely unsuccessful" in getting journalists to write stories on its behalf.

  • Facebook is notifying those who were contacted by the IRA.
  • A report from cybersecurity firm Graphika said the IRA activity was small-scale, but similar to 2016 efforts to mostly criticize Democratic candidates. The campaign on Facebook was meant to draw attention to a website called peacedata.net that ran hundreds of articles.

The big picture: The move came amid a broader crackdown on political interference campaigns around the world.

  • Facebook also removed accounts and pages from U.S.-based strategic communications firm CLS Strategies, which was behind inauthentic activity aimed at users in certain Latin American countries.
  • In Pakistan, Facebook removed accounts, pages and groups suspected to be engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior.
  • "We are making progress rooting out this abuse, but as we’ve said before, it’s an ongoing effort," Facebook wrote in a blog post.

By the numbers: Last month,521 Facebook accounts were removed, 72 Instagram accounts were removed, 147 Facebook pages were removed and 78 Facebook groups were removed.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.