Facebook said it shut down a large network of fake accounts spreading memes and propaganda about U.S. politics that promoted Donald Trump and attacked his rivals.
In an unusual twist, some of the bogus Facebook accounts as part of the “coordinated inauthentic activity” ring used profile photos generated by artificial intelligence to create the appearance that the fake users were Americans, who then joined Facebook Groups to post political content, the company said.
According to Facebook, the network centered on U.S.-based media company accounts about 55 million total followers across Facebook and Instagram (most of which were outside the U.S.). Facebook said The BL network, operated by individuals in the U.S. and Vietnam, was linked to Epoch Media Group
