AHEAD of the French presidential election, Facebook has cracked down on 30,000 fake accounts in France for spreading fake news stories, spam, misinformation or other deceptive content.
According to Facebook security manager, Shabnam Shaik in a blog post, “Our priority, of course, is to remove the accounts with the largest footprint, with a high amount of activity and a broad reach”.
Shaik further noted that the purge will not remove all accounts that are spreading fake news. “We know we have to keep getting better”.
“These accounts were targeted because they are fake. Full stop.
The decision it’s part of an effort to fight misinformation following the spread of fake news in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential race.
The first round of voting in France is set to take place April 23, while the spread of fake news has raised concerns in France ahead of the the country’s national elections.
