Facebook and Twitter remove Russian troll network that operated from Africa

Facebook and Twitter took down more than 200 troll accounts yesterday that posted messages on social media for ‘Russian individuals’. The accounts were managed by people in Ghana and Nigeria.

According to Facebook’s statement, the accounts posted messages that were primarily intended to disrupt American society. The accounts were still building an audience and had not yet focused on the United States elections, the social media reported. The troll network regularly published about American news; their focus included the history and fashion of African Americans. The LGBTQ community also featured frequently in the troll posts.

The troll network consisted of 49 Facebook accounts, 69 Facebook Pages, 85 Instagram accounts and 71 Twitter accounts. At the rogue Facebook Pages, users pretended to be non-governmental organizations or personal blogs. The fake accounts also posted to pre-existing Groups. According to the Facebook investigation, the troll users were linked to EBLA, an NGO in Ghana, and to people previously linked to the Russian Internet Research Agency. The latter organization has previously been discredited for allegedly influencing the United States presidential election. Facebook writes that some Ghanaians and Nigerians knowingly cooperated with the Russian troll network and that others did so unknowingly.

The troll users came to light when Facebook investigated coordinated disingenuous behavior on the platform ahead of the US election. For the roll-up of the network, Facebook worked with government and police forces, and CNN. This news organization was investigating the troll network at the same time as the social media. Facebook insists that the accounts were not removed because of the content of the posts, but because of the coordinated deception they intended to create with their posts.