United States: Facebook dismantles a manipulation of the presidential election

The social network says it has deleted thirteen accounts and pages linked to a Russian organization close to the Kremlin. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Would the Russians try to influence the US presidential election?

Facebook and Twitter ensure in any case to have foiled attempts at manipulation, less than three months before the election.

Publicity

Read more

With our correspondent in New York,

Loubna Anaki

It is on information transmitted by the FBI that Facebook intervened.

The social network says it has deleted thirteen accounts and pages linked to a Russian organization close to the Kremlin.

The same organization is accused of

instigating a campaign against Hillary Clinton

and in favor of Donald Trump in 2016.

According to Facebook, the operation was still in its infancy.

Officials had set up a website masquerading as an independent news site.

They had even recruited journalists thinking they were working for a media engaged on the left and had also created fake accounts on the social network to share the site's publications.

Democratic voters targeted

Behind articles dealing with corruption, climate change and social justice, the Russian organization sought to attract the most Democratic readers so that they could then influence them.

For its part, Twitter has also announced the deletion of five accounts.


According to one of the security managers at Facebook, the perpetrators of these manipulation operations are more discreet and difficult to detect, but they would be less effective.

Incidents that once again raise questions about security around the November 3 election.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • United States

  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Internet

  • Russia