As part of its day-to-day content moderation, Facebook routinely removes scores of networks running coordinated fake accounts. That’s why it was notable when, according to former Facebook data scientist and whistleblower Sophie Zhang, the company failed to remove a network she had flagged as having ties to an Indian politician.

According to Zhang, she discovered four networks running coordinated inauthentic activity in 2019 that were connected to the personal account of an Indian politician. These accounts were working to boost his chances in an upcoming election. However, Zhang says that the social media giant didn’t take any action because it had identified the politician as a “government partner.” For its part, Facebook parent company Meta denied the allegations, saying it “fundamentally disagrees” with Zhang’s characterization of these events. The company also highlighted its efforts to remove these networks, noting that the process comes with checks and balances to ensure policies are enforced correctly.

“We aggressively go after abuse around the world and have specialized teams focused on this work,” the company said in its response. “As a result, we’ve already taken down more than 150 networks of coordinated inauthentic behavior. Around half of them were domestic networks that operated in countries around the world, including those in India.”

Regardless of which side is correct in this skirmish, it’s clear that Facebook needs to do a better job of consistently enforcing its rules — both at home and abroad.

Recommended Resources

The Choice of Tech Experts Worldwide. Try 90 days free of Bitdefender and experience the highest level of digital safety.

Surf the web truly incognito. Try Bitdefender Premium VPN, the ultra-fast VPN that keeps your online identity and activities safe from hackers, ISPs and snoops.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!