Facebook announced Wednesday that it had dismantled more than 150 public opinion manipulation operations since 2017 and named Russia as the most important source of such deceptive campaigns, which aim to influence certain users for political or financial gain.
The social network, which until 2016 did not fear this type of operation, has become a powerful machine, with thousands of security employees looking for threats.
Coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) operations have multiplied in the past five years, when a Russian campaign designed to manipulate American voters revealed the platform’s potential for unscrupulous actors.
Since then, the tech giant has invested heavily in human resources and automated systems. It has also forged alliances with its Californian neighbors and the authorities.
Enough to force the groups responsible for these operations to adapt their tactics.
“They seek to remain undetectable to radar,” Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s director of security regulations, told a news conference about a report released by his team on Wednesday.
But by becoming more discreet, malicious actors also have a more limited impact.
Facebook further notes that influence campaigns blur the lines between manipulation and freedom of expression. “They push the boundaries of acceptable behavior online,” Gleicher said.
The social network hopes that the groups specialized in these maneuvers will continue to take advantage of crises and moments of uncertainty, such as the pandemic or the elections, to amplify the divisions.
“We have detected and eliminated influencer campaigns that attempted to recruit people to post falsely authentic content without those people knowing,” the report says.
“We have also seen genuine voices, including the former president of the United States, promoting false information amplified by operations from various countries such as Russia or Iran.”
Russia was behind 27 of the 150 campaigns discovered, orchestrated from some 50 countries. Iran ranks second, with 23 operations in its asset.
The United States has been the most targeted country, whether by sophisticated state-funded groups or by conspiracy theorists or fringe political leaders.
gc-juj / rle / dg / lda
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