Meta Removes Accounts in Belarus, China, Poland for 'Inauthentic Behavior' – Official

WASHINGTON, December 2 (Sputnik) - Meta, formerly known as Facebook, said on Wednesday that it has removed six adversarial networks from Palestine, China, Vietnam, Belarus, Poland and several other European countries for coordinated inauthentic behavior, brigading and mass reporting.

"We removed four networks from Palestine, Poland, Belarus, and China for violating our policy on Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB). Each of these networks targeted people in multiple countries at once," Nathan Gleicher, head of security policy, said.

Another deleted network of accounts originated in Italy and France and targeted medical professionals, journalists, and elected officials with mass harassment.

"Our investigation linked this activity to an anti-vaccination conspiracy movement called V_V, publicly reported to engage in violent online and offline behaviors," the company said.

In addition, Meta removed a network of accounts in Vietnam for mass reporting. The network allegedly targeted activists and other people critical of the government.

Gleicher said the global threats the company tackles have significantly evolved since 2017 when it began sharing its findings about CIB. To account for this constantly shifting threat environment, Gleicher said, the social media giant builds its defenses with the expectation that these issues will not stop, adapts and tries new tactics. The company is adding new layers of defense to address potential gaps from multiple angles, he added. With the goal being that over time the security measures will make these behaviors more costly and difficult to hide, and less effective.