FB identifies and takes down several pages for running disinformation campaign

Facebook (FB) has taken down around 652 pages, groups, and accounts from its website after identifying them as the part of a coordinating disinformation campaign, roots to which were found in Iran and Russia.

The misinformation groups, accounts, and pages originating in Iran out of which some are disguised as "Liberty Front Press", spread misinformation in United States, United Kingdom, Latin America and the Middle East, reported CNN.

FB stated that the coordinated campaign from Iran included 254 Facebook pages and 116 Instagram accounts had more than 1 million followers. The company revealed that between 2012 and 2017, these accounts spent more than $12,000 on the advertisements.

Ahead of the United States mid-term elections in November, multiple social media platforms including FB and Twitter have been trying to prevent the misinformation which was observed during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg while talking to reporters said that social networking platforms will be made safer this identification drive.

He further said, "While it's still early, we're starting to see it pay off and we're identifying more of this before the election.