Facebook discovers network of suspected Russian-linked accounts aimed at interfering in US mid-terms

Dozens of Facebook fake accounts are being used to try and change the result of November’s U.S. midterm election, the company reported. But it is not clear what the secretive group were actually trying to do, or how they were planning to do it.

This was discovered by Facebook.

The company still does not know who was behind the co-ordinated attack on the elections, it said. But they appear to be connected with protests planned in Washington next week, and so it had taken the decision to make the group public.

CNN said Facebook has the network was made of suspected Russian-linked accounts and pages involved in organising political events in the United States. The network is the most extensive effort to interfere in American politics that Facebook has found and made public ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Asked by CNN to respond to the reports, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, “I hope the materials will be officially presented to the Russian side.”