Why Facebook Blocks 115 Accounts on Eve of US Election?

Facebook is now in damage control mode. The number one social media platform wants to regain its image after damage done during the 2016 US presidential elections. During 2016 Facebook was accused of not preventing misinformation and fake news campaign by Russia. According to many Russia played a vital role in Trump's election as US president. So now Facebook want to show the world that in this US congressional election, it is taking action against fake news spreaders in its platform.

Facebook's head of cyber security Mr. Nathaniel Gleicher said in a post that "On Sunday evening US law enforcement contacted Facebook about the online activity they found out and which they believe to be linked with foreign entities". Immediately after that FB blocked 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts that seems to be engaged in 'coordinated inauthentic behaviour'. Furthermore he stated that all the posts in these Facebook accounts are in Russian or French. But the instagram account's posts are in English only. Mr. Gleicher said that investigation and analysis is going on and it will take some time to announce the findings publicly.

But despite the crackdown by Facebook on its users, Oxford Internet Institute researchers told that junk news spreading is more now ahead of US congressional elections than in 2016 presidential elections. Another social media site twitter also deleted so many accounts which are spreading fake news. The number was not announced by Twitter. It is good for the world if Facebook manage to control fake news.

image courtesy - static-news.moneycontrol.com

The declaration came not long after US law implementation and knowledge offices said that Americans ought to be careful about Russian endeavors to spread phony news. The political race is Tuesday.

An examination distributed a week ago found that falsehood via web-based networking media was spreading at a more prominent rate than during the approach the 2016 presidential vote, which Russia is blamed for controlling through a tremendous purposeful publicity crusade for Donald Trump, the inevitable champ.

"On Sunday evening, US law implementation reached us about online movement that they as of late found and which they accept might be connected to remote substances," Facebook head of digital security strategy Nathaniel Gleicher said in a blog entry.