Bolivarian Factions: Facebook Takes Down Inauthentic Assets

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: On August 31, 2020, Facebook removed a network of 55 Facebook accounts, 42 Pages and 36 Instagram accounts attributed to the US-based strategic communications firm CLS Strategies for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB). In its report, Facebook stated that the accounts violated its policy against foreign interference or coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign entity and that the accounts focused on Venezuela, Mexico and Bolivia. Facebook shared a portion of this network with the authors on August 26, 2020. In our investigation, we found that the network involved in this takedown operated fake and duplicate user accounts under the same names. Based on public records, we were able to connect some of the assets on Facebook to CLS Strategies personnel and determine that the firm had worked or was working on behalf of the Bolivian government.

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/qb823mb8849
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/qb823mb8849

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Preferred citation: Cryst, E., Ponce de León, E., Suárez Pérez, D., and Perkins, S. (2020). Bolivarian Factions: Facebook Takes Down Inauthentic Assets. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/qb823mb8849

Stanford Internet Observatory, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

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