Facebook cracks down on disinformation networks in Russia, China : NPR

Headquarters of social media company Meta in Menlo Park, California. Facebook’s parent company says it has removed a Russian network promoting pro-Kremlin views on the war in Ukraine and a Chinese network targeting the US midterm elections. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide captions

. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Headquarters of social media company Meta in Menlo Park, California. Facebook’s parent company says it has removed a Russian network promoting pro-Kremlin views on the war in Ukraine and a Chinese network targeting the US midterm elections.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Facebook’s parent company Meta says it disrupted a large Russian network of fake accounts masquerading as European news outlets to further pro-Kremlin views on the war in Ukraine.

Separately, the social media giant said it also shut down a Chinese-originating network targeting the US midterm elections and criticizing the Czech government.

Ben Nimmo, global threat intelligence lead at Meta, said that although the campaigns were not related, the two removals were easy targets for social media platforms’ efforts to shape narratives about high-profile events. It highlights what is going on.

“There are gunfights in Ukraine and elections in the US,” he said. “And we’re seeing influence operations talking about these things.”

Russian campaign aimed at European aid to Ukraine

Meta said the Russian operation was the largest and most complex since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February.

“In fact, everything it says can be summed up in 10 words: ‘Ukraine is bad. Russia is good. Stop sanctions. Stop supplying arms,'” said Nemo.

It involved more than 60 websites masquerading as well-known European news outlets, including The Guardian and Daily Mail in the UK, Der Spiegel and Bild in Germany, and the Italian news agency ANSA.

According to Nimmo, spoofed websites are carefully crafted and based on the obvious theory that imitating a well-known brand will attract a large audience. They copied the layout of the outlet’s actual site and mimicked the web address. In some cases, they used bylines and photos of real journalists and included links to other news stories.

But Nimmo said the level of detail was what doomed the operation. Meta began investigating the fake site after it was flagged by journalists, researchers, and the general public this summer.

“They’ve gone too far,” he said. “Pretending to be Spiegel in Germany in front of an audience where Spiegel is one of Germany’s most famous brands increases the risk that someone will actually look at you and say, ‘Wait a minute, this is real. not”

Various fake sites ran articles in multiple languages, including pro-Kremlin narratives, denouncing corruption in the Ukrainian government and military and warning of dire consequences of European sanctions against Russia.

Most of the disguised news sites were in German, but some mimicked news sites from the UK, Italy, France, Ukraine, and Latvia. In its early stages, the operation created its own brand masquerading as a news outlet, some of which was shared on the official Facebook page of the Russian Embassy.

The network used fake accounts from petition websites including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, Russia’s LiveJournal, and Change.org to promote links to the website. Many of the fake accounts used profile pictures generated by artificial intelligence, and many claimed to work for Netflix.

“They were trying to kind of smash-and-grab raid the information environment,” said Nimmo. “They created these fakes and were trying to push them out so fast and so loud that they got to the real people before they got caught.”

Using fake social media accounts to direct traffic to external websites has become a common tactic in influence operations, and was also used in another Russian influence campaign that Meta took down early in the invasion. rice field.

Facebook has removed over 2,300 accounts, pages and groups on Facebook and Instagram, gaining a total of around 5,500 followers. The network spent about $105,000 on ads promoting links to her fake website.

According to Mehta, these amplification tactics are crude, with many posts, accounts, and ads detected by automated systems.

Chinese network takes aim at divisive political issues

Chinese networks were much smaller and less sophisticated and had little if any traction. Consisting of 92 accounts, pages and groups on Facebook and Instagram, it has amassed a total of about 280 followers.

This is the first time Meta has withdrawn a China-based effort focused on the US midterm elections. In the spring and summer of this year, fake accounts first masqueraded as conservative Americans, then followed by President Joe Biden, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, abortion Controversial topics such as access to guns and gun rights.

Meta said it had similarities to another China-based network of fake accounts that were removed in 2020. The network partially posted posts about the US presidential election.

The difference this time, Nimmo said, is that it focuses directly on US politics rather than criticizing the US government.

“All the operations we’ve seen so far out of China are talking about America, not America,” he said. “They seemed to be using these divisive issues, these hot political issues, as windows into the American conversation.”

The network also posted in Chinese about geopolitics, accusing the United States of conducting surveillance and cyberattacks against China. In another group, fake accounts impersonated Czechs, criticized the Czech government for its support of Ukraine, and warned against antagonizing China.

The network posted sporadically, usually during working hours in China. The post received little reaction on Facebook and Instagram, with some users accusing it of being fake. Mehta said the hashtags he used when posting about American politics were rarely used by accounts outside the network.

In addition to Facebook and Instagram, the network also ran Twitter and two Czech petition websites, which had similarities to the Russian campaign.

“They are moving away from social media and trying to find other platforms that can reach people, whether it’s a big business or a small one that’s an interesting development,” said Nimmo. increase. “They’re looking on the internet for safe places that can’t be taken down.”

Editor’s Note: Meta pays NPR to license NPR content.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1125217316/facebook-takes-down-russian-network-impersonating-european-news-outlets The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos