Facebook And Twitter Delete Several Accounts That Foment Iranian Propaganda

Facebook and Twitter announced on Tuesday that they have removed around 300 accounts, most of them of Iranian origin, that were involved with coordinated “inauthentic behaviour.”

The companies of the two social networks have acted according to a council of the cybersecurity company FireEye Inc, which said on Tuesday that the accounts were promoting Iranian propaganda, including the discussion of “anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian issues.”

“We have eliminated 652 pages, groups and accounts for coordinated inauthentic behaviors that originated in Iran and directed through multiple Internet services in the Middle East, Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States,” reported the head of cybersecurity policy in Facebook, Nathaniel Gleicher.

According to FireEye, the lobbying effort, which Twitter has defined as “coordinated manipulation,” began in 2017 and has continued for months.

“However, it is important to note that the activity does not appear to have been specifically designed to influence the ‘midterms’ of 2018 in the United States, as it extends well beyond the American public and American politics,” said FireEye it’s a statement.

The account deletion comes weeks after Facebook removed its Russian-originated accounts for engaging in deceptive behavior. The company said Tuesday that it has found additional inauthentic behavior linked to Russia, but that the activity does not appear to be linked to the Iran-related campaign.