Facebook announced Tuesday, December 15, that it had removed three networks managed from Russia and France, including one linked to the French army, and accused of carrying out interference operations in Africa.
Two networks of accounts were attributed to people associated with the Russian Internet Research Agency and a third was found to have
"links with people associated with the French military,"
Facebook says.
Asked by AFP, the French staff did not immediately react.
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These networks targeted countries in northern Africa and the Near East.
Within each of them, the participants used fake profiles, which led Facebook to take action.
All three campaigns were suppressed because they violated the social network's policy which prohibits
"coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign government
,
"
said Facebook's security policy official Nathaniel Gleicher and chief from the Global Threat Disruption Team, David Agranovich in a blog post.
Regarding the network based in France, it mainly targeted the Central African Republic and Mali, and to a lesser extent Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad, Facebook specifies.
Giving voice to false inhabitants of these countries, these accounts commented, for example, on French policy on the spot, or expressed support for the French army.
Facebook specifies having, in the French case, deleted 84 accounts, six pages, nine groups as well as sixteen Instagram accounts.
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“Although the people behind this tried to hide their identity and coordinated character, our investigation found links with individuals associated with the French army,”
Facebook said in its statement.
On these accounts, were posted in French and Arabic information on current events evoking
"the policy of France in French-speaking Africa, the security situation in various African countries, allegations of possible interference by Russia in the elections in the Republic. Central African Republic and comments favorable to the French army, ”
added Facebook.