Facebook shuts 20 pages claiming to be Ethiopian broadcaster

A major Ethiopian broadcaster says Facebook has shut 20 pages that falsely used its name.

Fana Broadcasting Corporate's announcement comes as Ethiopians complain that fake news reports in recent months have contributed to mass violence and deaths in some parts of the country.

"Based on our request, Facebook has shut down 13 fake pages in the past week alone. In recent weeks, a total of 20 fake Fana pages that were spreading fake news were shut down," Mekoya Hailemariam, head editor of Fana's online publications, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"The pages were using our official logo and mixing our authentic news items with fake ones to intentionally spread misinformation. Some of these fake pages used to have as high as 45,000 followers."
"Hence, people are exposed to rumors, fake news and conspiracy theories. As such, they are exploited in many ways."
"This will only hamper our reform efforts and lead us to failure ultimately."
The Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Fitsum Arega, also tweeted in August urging the public to "disregard falsehoods" and stay away from "fabricated stories."
He later dismissed it as an "utter lie."