Facebook takes down Brazil activist network ahead of elections

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

JULY 25, 2018 / 7:01 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Brad Haynes
4 MIN READ

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc on Wednesday took down a network of pages and accounts used by a right-wing Brazilian activist group, cracking down on what it called a misinformation network ahead of elections in October.

Facebook said in a statement that it deactivated 196 pages and 87 accounts in Brazil for their part in “a coordinated network that hid behind fake Facebook accounts and misled people about the nature and origin of its content, all for the purpose of sowing division and spreading misinformation.”

The statement did not identify the pages or users involved, and a Facebook representative declined to identify them.

However, sources told Reuters that the network was run by senior organizers from the Movimento Brazil Livre (MBL) or “Free Brazil Movement.”

Read more: https://in.reuters.com/article/facebook-brazil-election/facebook-takes-down-brazil-activist-network-ahead-of-elections-idINKBN1KF1ND?rpc=401&

[sandensea]

1. They should do the same with Macri's troll army in Argentina.

Amid the most severe crisis since the 2001/02 collapse, Macri spends $7 million annually on social media trolls - mainly on Facebook, since Argentina is the world's 13th largest Facebook user.

The IMF even asked him to cut the item out of the budget (as part of the bailout agreement), so Macri responded by cutting $7 million from the state news agency instead: 354 layoffs, several provincial offices closed.

Why? Because the state news agency (Telam) is staffed with professionals who, while not critical of Macri, won't parrot the party line either.

Thanks for finding this, Judi. Here's hoping Facebook steps up their troll clearing efforts.