The company Meta discovered more than 60 fake Russian accounts imitating foreign news sites, including the English media The Guardian and the German Der Spiegel, writes AP.
Instead of real news, the fake sites contained links to Russian propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine. In addition, the extensive disinformation network contained 1,600 fake Facebook accounts that spread false information purportedly from foreign media to audiences in Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, and Ukraine. False information was spread not only on Facebook, but also on Instagram, Telegram, and Twitter.
Meta emphasized that this is the largest and most sophisticated Russian propaganda operation the company has discovered since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
This propaganda network worked throughout the summer, and the content was distributed several times on the official Facebook pages of the Russian embassies in Europe and Asia, noted David Agranovich, director of Meta's threat prevention department.
Investigative journalists noticed the activities of the Russian disinformation network in Germany. When Meta began its investigation, it found that Facebook's automated systems had already removed many fake accounts.
