New York (CNN) Facebook accused people linked to the French military on Tuesday of running a covert online influence operation targeting parts of Africa. It is the first time Facebook has publicly linked a campaign like this to individuals connected to a Western military. The deceptive tactics allegedly used, which include using Facebook to pose as locals in the targeted countries, mirror misinformation campaigns run by the Russian government. Facebook staff told reporters on a press call Tuesday that the company could not say if the operation was directed by the French military itself -- they only said it was run by "individuals associated" with the military. Facebook removed the accounts and also announced on Tuesday that it had removed accounts, also posing as Africans, that were linked to Russian troll group.

Source: CNN December 15, 2020 19:07 UTC