Facebook has removed a network of Russian and Iranian accounts that had tried to mislead U.S. voters, just latest in a string of efforts by the company to avert the same kind of coordinated attacks that it had let slip through during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
The removal, announced Monday, came as Facebook announced a series of new policies intended to protect elections from interference worldwide. The company is still reeling from criticism for allowing Russians to inflame the U.S. electorate during the previous presidential campaign.
“There’s still a long way to go before Election Day,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a conference call with reporters on Monday. “We have a big responsibility to secure our platforms and stay ahead of some of these sophisticated new threats to elections here and around the world.”
Still, just last week, Zuckerberg justified letting politicians say whatever they wanted to in ads that run on Facebook, including lies, couching it as freedom of expression.
Here’s a look at what Facebook announced on Monday:
1. Removing Russian and Iranian accounts
Facebook said it removed four networks of accounts, pages, and groups on Facebook and Instagram related to coordinated attempts by Russia and Iran to mislead people in the U.S., North Africa, and Latin America.
Three of the networks, which Zuckerberg called “relatively small,” originated in Iran, and another “early-stage,” “well-resourced” operation” came from Russia. Some of the accounts were detected by automated systems, while others were disabled after review.
The Iranian networks included 135 Facebook, 26 pages, four groups, and 21 Instagram accounts. Of that network, four Facebook accounts, three pages, and seven Instagram accounts mainly targeted the U.S. and masqueraded as coming from a news entity called BLMNews.
The Russian network included 50 Instagram accounts and one Facebook account primarily targeting the U.S. The accounts shared reused content posted by news organizations and public figures, and also repurposed posts originally from the Internet Research Agency, the Russian group that attempted to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
2. Banning ads promoting voter suppression
Facebook is extending a policy it introduced ahead of the 2018 midterms banning posts that misrepresented voter information or used intimidation tactics to keep people from voting. The company said the ban includes paid ads that suggest voting is useless or advises people not to vote and that candidates wouldn’t be exempt.
3. Misinformation labels
Facebook said that it would make the labels that identify misleading posts on Facebook and Instagram more prominent. The policy applies to posts that have been fact-checked third party organizations.
The labels will be shown on top of the false content before users can see the actual post instead of below the post, where it was identified previously. A link to the fact-checkers assessment will be provided on the label.
The company is also rolling out a new pop-up box that will appear when users try to share posts that have been debunked by fact-checkers. The pop-up will tell users that the information is false and provide links to the fact-checker’s information.
4. Revealing state sponsored-media and owners
Facebook said it will do more to show users where content originated.
Next month, state-controlled media will be labeled as such both on their pages and in Facebook’s ad library, it’s public archive of the ads on Facebook. In 2020, Facebook will expand the labels to include posts, in addition to pages and ads, on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook is also showing users the owner behind a page. A new “organizations that manage this page” tab will feature the page’s confirmed owner, including the group’s legal name and verified city, phone number or website.
5. Protecting politicians
Facebook wants to do more to secure the accounts of elected officials, candidates, and their staff. The company is introducing a voluntary program, Facebook Protect, that provides such accounts two-factor authentication for access and allows Facebook to monitor the pages for unusual logins or hacking.
Facebook also said it would update its ad library to include a feature that tracks how much U.S. presidential candidates spend on ads on Facebook to help journalists, lawmakers, and researchers with their research.
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