Facebook said it took down hundreds of accounts and groups
linked to France and Russia accused of “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” in
the CAR as well as other countries in Africa and the Middle East.
While accounts traced to Russia have been repeatedly accused
of such activity, Facebook told The Associated Press this is the first time it
has taken action against a network tied to individuals associated with a
Western government. It has taken action against networks tied to political
parties in the West in the past.
Facebook's move came ahead of elections December 27 in the
Central African Republic, which Facebook identified as the main target of the
disinformation, at a time when both France and Russia have been jockeying for
influence in the region.
The company said its investigators traced the French
accounts to “individuals associated with French military.” However, Nathaniel
Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, said in a statement that “we did
not see evidence that the French military itself directed the activity.”
Graphika, a New York City social media analysis firm that
investigated the accounts with Facebook, said it found no evidence of direct
institutional involvement by the French government or military.
The French military said in a statement Thursday to The
Associated Press that it “firmly condemns” such disinformation efforts and is
working alongside the UN and European partners to bring peace to the CAR.
“We are examining the results (of the Facebook-Graphika
investigation), but at this stage, we're not able to confirm any
responsibility. There are many stakeholders in this struggle, public and
civilian, which makes it difficult to assess the situation clearly,” the
statement said.
France was once the colonial power in the Central African
Republic and nearby countries that Facebook also identified as being targeted.
Russian companies also have growing interests in the region.
Facebook said it removed the networks for “violating our
policy against foreign or government interference which is coordinated
inauthentic behavior (CIB) on behalf of a foreign or government entity.”
Russian officials have not publicly commented.
Facebook said its investigation found links to individuals
associated with Russia's Internet Research Agency, a so-called troll farm
accused of meddling in the 2016 US. election, and Russian businessman Yevgeny
Prigozhin, who has ties to the Kremlin and has been indicted by the US Justice
Department. Prigozhin has repeatedly denied any connections to the troll farm
and its activities.
The US Treasury Department has sanctioned mining businesses
and employees tied to Prigozhin in the Central African Republic and claims his
business activities there are coordinated with the Russian government. In a
statement published this week on Russian social networks in response to media
queries, Prigozhin claimed that Facebook is a tool of US intelligence agencies
and “a group of oligarchs” serving to advance American interests around the
world.
Facebook said it has taken down the network of accounts that
tried to meddle in the Central African Republic, which were among almost 500
inauthentic Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups that targeted
users in several African and the Middle Eastern nations with posts about
COVID-19, politics or the military.
“While we've seen influence operations target the same
regions in the past, this was the first time our team found two campaigns, from
France and Russia, actively engage with one another,” Facebook said in its
report on the networks.
In the Central African Republic, the dueling French and
Russian troll operations tried to counter one another with Facebook posts, and
at some points tried to expose the other, according to a report by Graphika.
The Russian operation, primarily conducted in French, posted
pro-Kremlin videos and applauded the Central African Republic's incumbent
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, according to Graphika.
The French operation, meanwhile, strayed away from talking
about upcoming elections in posts. It began as early as May 2018, focusing on
the Central African Republic and security in Mali.
One Russian page that promoted Touadéra had 50,000
followers. Meanwhile, the largest following a French group amassed in the
Central African Republic was 34 followers.
“Facebook's takedown marks a rare exposure of rival
operations from two different countries going head to head for influence over a
third country,” Graphika said in a statement.