Facebook and Twitter remove thousands of fake accounts linked to Iran
Facebook and Twitter have once again announced the removal of fake accounts affiliated with Iran. It is said that Iran was using these fake accounts to spread political propaganda in Arabic and English against Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States.
Facebook has once again announced the blocking of fake accounts believed to be affiliated with the Iranian government and its cyber army. Twitter has also announced that it has removed fake accounts directed by the Iranian government.
On Wednesday, May 29, the German news agency (dpa) published a report from Los Angeles announcing the blocking of a number of fake accounts affiliated with Iran.
The report states that dozens of fake accounts, suspicious individual and group pages that belonged to Iran have been removed.
This is not the first time that Facebook and Twitter have taken down fake accounts affiliated with the Iranian government.
Facebook officials have announced that they have blocked 51 fake accounts, 36 pages, seven groups, and three Instagram accounts.
Meanwhile, AFP, publishing another report from San Francisco, announced the removal of approximately 2,800 suspicious accounts from Twitter.
Twitter is said to have suspended these accounts in early May, but the news was reported on Tuesday, May 28, by cybersecurity firm FireEye.
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According to a statement released by Facebook's head of cybersecurity, unknown individuals used these fake accounts and pages to launch a propaganda campaign against Israel and Saudi Arabia and in support of the Palestinians.
The same statement states that the languages used on these fake pages and accounts were English and Arabic. Some pages also raised political issues related to the United States and Britain.
The anonymous individuals who operated these fake accounts claimed to be European or American citizens and journalists. They even provided information to European and American media outlets for publication and coverage.
Facebook's head of cybersecurity said that in January of this year, Facebook also blocked about 365 fake accounts and hundreds of suspicious pages, as well as Instagram accounts affiliated with Iran.
Source: DW
