03 We removed seven Facebook accounts, four Pages and 16 Instagram accounts for violating our policy against ​foreign interference​ which is​ ​coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign entity. This network originated primarily in Iran and targeted both domestic audiences in Iran and also Lebanon, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. The people behind this network used fake accounts to create fictitious personas posing as geopolitical analysts and authors, post content and drive people to off-platform channels on other internet services. At least one fictitious persona in this network published an op-ed in an online newspaper, which was amplified by several Iranian news outlets. They also created fan Pages for these fake personas, in addition to creating Pages posing as news organizations in the countries they targeted while operating from Iran. These Pages were primarily created in the second half of 2020 and had nearly no following on Facebook. The accounts used stock photos as their profile images. The people behind this activity posted memes and political cartoons in Arabic and Farsi about news and current events the countries targeted. In Iran, they posted commentary supportive of the Iranian government, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In other countries, this network primarily focused on posting in support of Iranian foreign policy and criticism of Saudi Arabia and the United States. We found this network as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior in the region. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to individuals in Iran with academic backgrounds. ● Presence on Facebook and Instagram:​ 7 Facebook accounts, 4 Pages, and 16 accounts on Instagram. ● Followers: A ​ bout 1,100 accounts followed one or more of these Pages and around 13,000 people followed one or more of these Instagram accounts. FEBRUARY 2021 COORDINATED INAUTHENTIC BEHAVIOR REPORT