05 We removed 530 Instagram accounts for violating our policy against ​coordinated inauthentic behavior​.​ This network originated primarily in Russia and targeted domestic audiences throughout the recent protests in support of Alexey Navalny, an anti-corruption activist and politician in Russia. We detected and disabled the vast majority of these accounts, including through automation, as they began posting. The people behind this activity relied on recently created fake accounts to engage in what we call “hashtag poisoning” and “location poisoning.” This refers to posting large volumes of irrelevant or critical content with particular hashtags and location tags to drown out relevant information and redirect the conversation. Some of these hashtags included: ​#Путинуходи, #23января, #СвободуНавальному (#PutinLeave, #23January, #FreeNavalny). Some of the location tags included places where protesters planned to gather in Moscow and Saint Petersburg on January 23 and January 31, and later near Moscow City Court​. These accounts used celebrity photos and profile photos likely generated using machine learning techniques like generative adversarial networks (GAN). These accounts appeared to have been created in bulk and purchased. This network posted memes in Russian including about a Russian TikTok celebrity, criticism of pro-Navalny protests, claims of large numbers of minors attending the rallies and also advertising of women’s clothes and handbags. We found this network as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior surrounding the protests in Russia in 2021. ● ● Presence on Facebook and Instagram:​ 530 accounts on Instagram. Followers: A ​ bout 55,000 accounts followed one or more of these Instagram accounts. FEBRUARY 2021 COORDINATED INAUTHENTIC BEHAVIOR REPORT