Facebook removes 5,381 malicious accounts, groups and pages in June

In its latest attempt to sanitise its platforms, Facebook has purged 5,381 malicious accounts, Groups and Pages from its main network and Instagram.

In June, the company removed eight networks from seven countries. The vast majority of these campaigns targeted people in their own countries.

Facebook removed 2,784 accounts, 206 Instagram accounts, 2,249 Pages and 142 Groups in June.

Facebook removed 675 Facebook accounts, 16 Pages, and 10 Instagram accounts in Iraq and Iran that targeted audiences in Iraq and were linked to Al-Maaref Radio in Iraq and Alborz Analysis and Development, an IT firm in Tehran.

"We found this activity as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behaviour in the region," the social network said in a statement.

Facebook removed 1,621 Facebook accounts, 1,795 Pages, 75 Groups, and 93 Instagram accounts in Mexico that focused on the state of Campeche and were linked to individuals in that state, including those working for Worgcorp, a political strategy and public relations firm in Mexico.

"We found this activity as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behaviour in the region and removed it ahead of the Mexican elections," the company said.

"When we find domestic, non-government campaigns that include groups of accounts and Pages seeking to mislead people about who they are and what they are doing while relying on fake accounts, we remove both inauthentic and authentic accounts, Pages and Groups directly involved in this activity," Facebook added.