Facebook removes nearly 800 ‘inauthentic’ Iranian pages, accounts

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify following a break during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee joint hearing about Facebook on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Facebook on Thursday announced it removed 783 pages, groups and accounts with ties to Iran as part of the company’s continued effort to rid misinformation from its services.

The company said the Iranian accounts and pages were used to push Iranian propaganda “on topics like Israel-Palestine relations and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, including the role of the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia,” Facebook said in a blog post.

At least one of the pages had about 2 million followers. Altogether, the accounts spent less than $30,000 on Facebook and Instagram ads, the company said. The accounts and pages also hosted eight events, dating back to May 2014. As many as 210 people expressed interest in attending at least one of the events, Facebook said.

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