02
We removed 33 Facebook accounts, 11 Pages, six Groups and 47 Instagram
accounts for violating our policy against foreign interference which is
coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign entity. This network was
operated by individuals in Iran and Afghanistan and targeted Farsi/Dari-speaking
audiences primarily in Afghanistan.
This network used a combination of authentic and fake accounts to post content, direct people
to their channels on other internet services and manage Pages. Some of these Pages
impersonated media organizations such as TOLONews and Etilaatroz. Some of these accounts
posed as young women in Afghanistan and used fake profile photos and names.
This network posted about news and current events in the region, including politics; sports;
victims of Taliban violence; supportive commentary about Afghan security forces; and criticism
of US foreign policy in Afghanistan, Taliban’s record on women’s rights, US military actions in
Afghanistan, negotiations with Taliban, and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, the Pashtun
politician Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. They also posted nature photos and photos of women, and
news about the coronavirus pandemic from different regions of Afghanistan. We found this
network as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior in
the region.
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Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 3
3 Facebook accounts, 11 Pages, 6 Groups and
47 accounts on Instagram.
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Followers: A
bout 25,000 accounts followed one or more of these Pages, about 15,000
accounts joined at least one of these Groups and around 539,000 people followed one
or more of these Instagram accounts.
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Advertising: L
ess than $30 in spending for ads on Facebook and Instagram paid for in
US dollars.
OCTOBER 2020 COORDINATED INAUTHENTIC BEHAVIOR REPORT