*LONDON – Facebook and Twitter unveiled fresh crackdowns on misinformationcampaigns from Russia and Iran as analysts warned of more efforts tomanipulate public debate ahead of the November US elections.*
Facebook announced late Tuesday that it removed more than 650 pages, groupsand accounts identified as “networks of accounts misleading people aboutwhat they were doing,” according to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
Separately, Twitter said it suspended 284 accounts “for engaging incoordinated manipulation,” adding that “it appears many of these accountsoriginated from Iran.”
Moscow repeated its denial of any effort to manipulate social media firms.There was no immediate comment from Tehran on the crackdown.
Both social networks said they were working with law enforcement andstepping up security.
The Facebook action was prompted by research from cybersecurity firmFireEye regarding a collection of “Liberty Front Press” pages on the socialnetwork and other online services.
“The activity we have uncovered highlights that multiple actors continue toengage in and experiment with online, social media-driven influenceoperations as a means of shaping political discourse,” FireEye said in astatement.
“These operations extend well beyond those conducted by Russia, which hasoften been the focus of research into information operations over recentyears.”