Facebook and Twitter have dismantled a Russian-backed, online intervention campaign targeting African Americans.

The Hill website revealed that the campaign came out of Ghana and Nigeria to obscure the latest Russian attempts to sow discord on American soil through employees from foreign countries.

Coordination with organizations in Africa
According to an investigation conducted by the American channel CNN and broadcast Thursday, Russia has coordinated with workers in the two African countries to spread divisive and polarizing messages specifically targeting black social media users in the United States.

And Facebook announced the removal of 49 accounts, 69 pages and 85 Instagram accounts due to foreign interference in its platforms.

Facebook said that this network was in its early stages to build an audience and be activated by local citizens - some intentionally and some unintentionally - in Ghana and Nigeria on behalf of individuals in Russia, and it was primarily targeting the United States.

Workplace counterfeiting
Twitter said it had suspended 71 accounts mostly tweeting in English and presenting itself as based in the United States.

Twitter wrote that the 71 suspended accounts removed are operating from Ghana and Nigeria and we can link them reliably with Russia, adding that these accounts attempted to sow discord by engaging in discussions on social issues, such as race and civil rights.

The head of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said in a statement that this disclosure shows that the Russians will not stop, and that the potential use of "mediators" on another continent aims to hide Russian ties, and commented on this as a frightening sign that "our opponents" are continuing Take new and innovative ways to cover their tracks and evade detection.

A tribute to Facebook and Twitter
Schiff added that Facebook and Twitter made the right decision to quickly spread these operations to foreign intervention and stop them, before local political and community dialogues deepened.

He also said that companies should continue to work together and be as transparent as possible with the public.

The site said that since 2016, when Russian fake accounts successfully manipulated the world's largest social media networks to interfere in the US presidential election, the technology industry has remained on high alert to defend against any interference from Russia and other hostile foreign actors, and Twitter, Facebook, and Google have injected significant resources and efforts to discover Impact and removal campaigns, which often include posts on divisive topics and news stories.

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A new tactic to interfere
"CNN" explained that with the technology companies tightening the screws on Russia, the latter and other countries expanded and developed their technologies, adding that the interference operations on Thursday constituted a new tactic for interfering with the Internet.

She noted that the Russians supported a non-profit organization in Ghana dedicated to spreading messages in the United States on social issues with the aim of stirring up ethnic divisions.

The posts focused on topics such as "black history, the distinction and fashion of black people, celebrity news, news and events related to famous American figures such as historical figures, celebrities, gay issues, as well as police brutality," Facebook said.

Targeting black people
In 2016, fake Russia accounts were aimed at black voters, in an attempt to discourage them from voting and intensify tensions around the "Blacks Life is Important" movement.

Kelly Scales, founder of the "Life of Blacks Mission" network, told CNN that her organization is monitoring online intervention targeting black Americans.

She added that they are marching in the 2020 election cycle with eyes open to the fact that international and local actors are striving to undermine how we practice our organization and "we will not let that happen."