⁍ Facebook said the accounts were linked to Russian intelligence and people associated with a St. Petersburg-based organisation.
⁍ Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of election meddling and says it does not interfere in the domestic politics of other countries.
⁍ Facebook said the networks were small with only a handful of accounts on its website and photo-sharing service Instagram, and a combined total of around 97,000 followers.
– Facebook says it has shut down three networks of fake accounts that could have been used by Russia’s intelligence services to try to meddle in the US election, Reuters reports. The social media platform says the accounts, which were based in St. Petersburg, were linked to Russian intelligence and people associated with a St. Petersburg-based organization accused by US officials of working to sway the 2016 presidential vote. “We want to make sure that the accounts are down to prevent their ability to pivot them to facilitate a hack-and-leak around the US election,” Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy says. A Facebook rep says there is no evidence the hacked documents were about to be leaked, but by suspending the accounts Facebook hopes to prevent them being used in any subsequent operation. “Our team watches for the threats and trends that we need to be ready for and one that we are very aware of … is a hack-and-leak operation, particularly in the next 6-8 weeks,” he says. “We want to make sure that the accounts are down to prevent their ability to pivot them to facilitate a hack-and-leak around the US election.” (The FBI has warned that foreign actors and cybercriminals are likely to spread disinformation about the results of November’s election.)
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-facebook-russia/facebook-suspends-fake-russian-accounts-warns-of-us-election-hack-and-leak-threat-idUSKCN26F3BT