Meta has deleted numerous accounts that spread fake news on Facebook and Instagram. Behind it is a network that imitates more than 60 German news sites in a deceptively real way.
As early as August 2022, the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) was able to identify a network on Facebook that addressed the increasing energy crisis in Germany and a relaxation of Russian sanctions and spread fake news in these areas. The DFRLab is part of the US think tank Atlantic Council, which also conducts public policy. A check by the Facebook group Meta and further research by ZDFheute revealed that there is a much larger network behind the identified accounts. The primary aim was to use fake news to attack the sanctions policy against Russia as part of the Ukraine war. Insidious methods were used.
Fake news on Facebook and Instagram
According to ZDF research, the corresponding network on Facebook included 1633 accounts, 703 pages and one group. 29 Instagram profiles were involved on Instagram. The aim was to promote pro-Kremlin interests in European countries. Meta concluded that the network must have originated in Russia and spread from there across multiple platforms beyond Facebook and Instagram. Fake news was posted on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter and the Russian platform Livejournal. There have also been petitions on Change.org and Avaaz related to the managed campaign. A meta spokesman said:
We paralyzed a large network (…). The operation began in May this year and focused on an extensive network of over sixty websites carefully posing as legitimate news organizations in Europe, including Spiegel, The Guardian, Bild and ANSA. There they published original articles criticizing Ukrainian refugees and Ukraine, praising Russia and arguing that Western sanctions against Russia would backfire.
Spokesperson for Meta in DFRLab publication
Links to fake news sites
Meta found that the Facebook accounts shared links to Russian websites en masse. Linking to fake websites similar to well-known media organizations was also common. Research by ZDFheute revealed that strangers were copying BILD, Spiegel, Welt and T-Online websites, among others. Thus, fake news and fake videos are given a legitimate look on the fake sites.
The primary aim of this fake news strategy is to unsettle people and to achieve one thing above all with made-up stories: anger against their own policies and approval of Russia’s actions. In addition, headlines such as “Berbock [sic] is preparing a nuclear war” or “Chancellor Scholz has signed the death sentence for Germany with the economic sanctions against Russia” published on the websites.
So that the readers do not become suspicious, the links lead to Russian Internet addresses that are similar to well-known domains. An address such as news.bild.xxx (censored ending) can thus appear in the Internet browser in order to appear more authentic.
Coordinated approach of fake accounts
In order to spread the links, fake profiles on Facebook and other social networks share them thousands of times. The DFRLab was able to determine a coordinated approach of the accounts. For example, paid advertising was placed for content. In addition, the use of automated and coordinated narratives was conspicuous, as were grammatical errors in texts. The latter are probably mainly due to the fact that no native speakers were at work. Calls to action were used to reinforce the narratives used and interaction with the audience. Petitions and other forms of engagement should also motivate people to get involved across multiple languages.
The accounts often have the job title “Netflix” and use profile pictures generated with AI software. The AI uses several profile pictures of strangers to create a new virtual portrait of a non-existent person. Some of the accounts also tried to imitate a Ukrainian background, for example by using Ukrainian names and flags. In addition, many account managers of the fake news sites on Facebook said they were from Belarus or Ukraine.
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Campaigns must have had high budgets
Although the activities of most fake news sites and accounts were limited, the content was able to reach thousands of people. But the success did not come by chance. The DRFLab identified 13 Facebook pages that used paid advertising to distribute their content.
The fact that the network used advertisements indicates a significant budget. Meta itself reported that $105,000 worth of money went to Facebook Ad, Instagram Ad and Meta Ad Library to promote the fake news. Payment was primarily made in US dollars, euros and Hungarian forints.
The information war continues
Even though Meta has now taken action against the fake news network, the problem will continue. The main problem is that state actors intervene in the public opinion discourse. A free opinion should always be formed from several freely accessible sources. However, if it is not indicated whether a state actor is behind it, the line to manipulation and propaganda is fluid. The risk of encountering deliberately misleading content in social media is still high, despite automated checking by Meta. This automatically detects fake profiles and can delete them if necessary. However, it is questionable whether censorship is a long-term solution. Because such disinformation campaigns often switch to social media and platforms where they are less subject to regulation.
It is particularly worrying that in the present case known news sites were falsified. Especially when a higher budget is behind it, freedom of expression is threatened and diversity of opinion is undermined. Other actors besides Russia also have an interest in influencing opinions in the USA and Europe, as a report by Meta shows, among others. He explains in detail how China, too, repeatedly initiates broad-based campaigns. Education about different methods and backgrounds of false news can be a means to ensure an open discourse of opinion.
TECHBOOK is part of Bild GmbH and belongs to Axel Springer SE. Welt and BILD are also part of the company.