Published on: October 16, 2024
Tech giant Meta has taken down a network of group accounts targeting Russian-speaking users in Moldova ahead of the country’s upcoming election, scheduled to take place on October 20.
The accounts were taken down for violating Meta’s policy on fake accounts, according to a company statement.
The fake Meta accounts were used to post criticism of Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, pro-EU politicians, and the country’s close ties with Romania, while promoting pro-Russia parties, according to the company.
Meta revealed that the operation involved around a dozen fake Russian-language news brands, posing as independent entities, with activity spanning multiple platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, OK.ru, and TikTok.
The individuals behind the operation used fake accounts to direct users to off-platform channels, primarily on Telegram. These accounts produced original content, including cartoons, related to Moldovan news and geopolitical events, often promoting pro-Russian parties.
The tech giant said it removed seven Facebook accounts, 23 pages, one group, and 20 Instagram accounts for violating its “coordinated inauthentic behavior policy.” Approximately 4,200 accounts followed one or more of the Facebook pages, while around 335,000 followed the Instagram accounts.
Following Meta’s actions, Moldovan authorities took further steps by blocking Telegram channels and chatbots involved in a scheme to influence the country’s referendum on EU membership, held alongside the presidential election.
The National Investigation Inspectorate in Chisinau said it had shut down 15 Telegram channels and 95 chatbots that were offering payments to voters in exchange for casting “no” ballots in the referendum.
Authorities explained that these channels violated local laws on political party financing. The accounts were traced back to supporters of exiled oligarch Ihan Shor, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison last year for his involvement in the 2014 disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks.
Shor, now in exile in Moscow, had established a new political group called the “Victory” and a portion of the channels offered supportive commentary of it.