Facebook Uncovers Fake Accounts Ahead of Midterm Elections

 

Facebook says the company has removed 32 pages and accounts from its social media sites ahead of midterm elections in the United States.

In a statement July 31, Facebook said those removed had violated company policy barring “inauthentic coordinated² behavior.” The policy is in place because, the statement continued, “we don’t want people or organizations creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they are, or what they’re doing.”

Facebook said it does not know who controlled the accounts but that they appeared to be fake. The company also did not directly suggest the pages were aimed at influencing the U.S. midterm elections in November. But it did compare the accounts to those set up by Russian-based Internet Research Agency, or IRA. It is facing criminal charges of illegal interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

The social media company said it is still early in its investigation³ of possible fake accounts. It also said it has shared the information with U.S. law enforcement agencies, Congress, and other technology companies.

The first of the pages was created in March 2017. The other removed material included eight Facebook pages, 17 Facebook profiles, and seven accounts of the photo-sharing site Instagram.

Facebook said one of the pages had 290,000 followers⁴. The most followed pages used names like “Aztlan Warriors,” ″Black Elevation,” ″Mindful Being,” and “Resisters.”

The accounts also spent about $11,000 for 150 ads on Facebook and Instagram. The money was paid in U.S. and Canadian dollars from April 2017 to June 2018. The account also created about 30 events since May 2017.

Facebook said since the company has increased efforts to prevent abuse, the creators of fake accounts have begun to employ trickier⁵, more secretive efforts. For example, “they used VPNs and internet phone services, and paid third parties to run ads,” the statement said. VPNs are virtual private networks.

However, the company added that it had found some connections between these fake accounts and the removed IRA accounts. One of the IRA accounts shared a Facebook event hosted by the “Resister” page. And the two also briefly⁶ had the same administrator⁷.

I'm Caty Weaver⁸.

Words in This Story

inauthentic - adj. not real

coordinate¹ - v. to act or work together

fake - adj. not real

1 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

5 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。