FALSE INFORMATION

Facebook Removes Troll Farm Pretending to Be African-Americans in Support of Trump

The social-media giant removed thousands of fake accounts, including ones reportedly tied to conservative media outlet The Epoch Times and a Romanian troll farm.

Facebook removed hundreds of fake accounts reportedly tied to a foreign troll farm posing as black supporters of President Trump and hundreds of others connected to conservative media outlet The Epoch Times. The accounts reportedly connected to Epoch Media Group, the parent company of the The Epoch Times, were pushing conspiracy theories in Trump’s favor about the coronavirus and the protests against racial injustice, while the ones from the troll farm were reportedly pretending to be African-Americans who support President Donald Trump’s re-election. The farm was based in Romania and used accounts including “BlackPeopleVoteForTrump” on Instagram and “We Love Our President” on Facebook. The accounts were removed as part of the platform’s effort to cut down on inauthentic behavior.

In a statement, Stephen Gregory, publisher of The Epoch Times’ english-language editions, denied that the accounts were connected to the company. “The accounts Facebook removed were operated by a media outlet with which The Epoch Times is not linked or related to, and with which The Epoch Times does not have any involvement in its operation,” she said.