Meta Platforms (FB.O) said a hacking group used Facebook to target public figures in Ukraine, including prominent military officials, politicians and a journalist, as the social media company announced steps against covert influence and hacking amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of its neighbor.
Meta said in the last 48 hours it had separately removed a network of about 40 fake accounts, groups and pages across Facebook and Instagram that operated from Russia and Ukraine targeting people in Ukraine, for violating its rules against coordinated inauthentic behavior.
A Twitter (TWTR.N) spokesperson said the company had also suspended more than a dozen accounts and blocked the sharing of several links for violating its rules against platform manipulation and spam. It said its ongoing investigation indicated the accounts originated in Russia and sought to disrupt the public conversation around the conflict in Ukraine.
