Meta removes more than a thousand fake accounts from the Nicaraguan government

Meta says he has removed more than a thousand Nicaraguan fake accounts from Facebook and Instagram. According to the social media company, the accounts were part of a fake news campaign by the government in that country.

The campaign spread fake news about the opposition and protesters, manipulating public debate in the country, Meta said. The posts were addressed to the people of Nicaragua and were sent by fake accounts. The ‘troll factory’ was run by the Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega and the FSLN, the party that holds power in the Central American country.

The operation was mainly managed from the postal service headquarters in the country. All accounts were deleted in October. It would be 937 Facebook accounts, 140 Facebook pages, 24 Facebook groups and 363 Instagram accounts. The Facebook pages are said to have had more than half a million followers. In total, the government invested about $12,000 in Facebook and Instagram ads.

According to Meta, the government campaign already started in 2018. In addition to Instagram and Facebook, fake news would also be distributed by the Nicaraguan government on YouTube, Twitter and TikTok, among others. Meta says it will also have removed such troll factories from governments in Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Thailand and Azerbaijan by 2021. Nicaragua will hold presidential elections next weekend.