Facebook on Wednesday took down dozens of accounts linked to Republican operative
He said the company took down four separate networks based in
"The majority of the activity we removed today focused on domestic audiences in each country and was linked to commercial entities and individuals associated with political campaigns and political offices," Gleicher wrote in a blog post.
"Domestic campaigns like these raise a particularly complex challenge by blurring the line between healthy public debate and manipulation."
One network included accounts linked to the so-called Proud Boys, a group the
Facebook banned the group in 2018 but began investigating its attempts to return to the platform, uncovering more than 100 pages and accounts. The accounts posted about
"Our investigation linked this network to
Facebook also removed a network of more than 100 accounts out of
Meanwhile, an independent civil rights audit of
The report comes as a number of companies boycott advertising on Facebook because they believe the platform doesn't do enough to stop the spread of hate speech.
"Many in the civil rights community have become disheartened, frustrated and angry after years of engagement where they implored the company to do more to advance equality and fight discrimination, while also safeguarding free expression," the report said.
The auditors said they interviewed more than 100 civil rights organizations as part of their investigation.
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