Meta announced that it has banned the so-called Cyber Front Z, a pro-Russian troll group that intended to mobilize supporters of the war in Ukraine through a public channel from Telegram. What they shared on Telegram they then published through other platforms such as Instagram or YouTube. In the Telegram channel has about 100,000 participants.
What this group did was create about 1,000 Instagram accounts (according to company data) with about 49,000 followers between all of them, as well as 45 accounts on Facebook. These accounts were dedicated to spreading false information. Still, despite the attempt, Mark Zuckerberg’s firm says it hasn’t been as successful a campaign as others in the past to try to break into political opinion.
Don’t forget that the company has faced years of criticism for its handling of the networks, including Russian attempts to meddle in US politics, and Meta workers now say that Cyber Front Z does not reveal successful use of Facebook or Instagram as part of the information front in the Ukrainian war.
Anyway, knowing the long list of lies of the leader of Meta to get out of trouble, it will be necessary to see if these trolls really had no impact.
MASTER TELEGRAM 25 TRICKS to be an EXPERT
How they tried to change public opinion
Meta concluded in its report that Cyber Front Z had “failed to muster substantial genuine support online as part of this operation.” The “Cyber Z Front” also appears to have directed its followers to a fan page for UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss instead of her real page.
From Meta they have said that they are especially attentive to other campaigns that engage in “perception hacking” to try to exaggerate their influence as a way of eroding confidence in democracy.
Telegram already warned about this
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine kicked off, Telegram creator and CEO Pavel Durov warned users in both Russia and Ukraine to “doubt all information” on the app. “I ask Russian and Ukrainian users to be wary of any data being spread on Telegram at this time.
We do not want that Telegram is used as a tool to exacerbate conflicts and incite inter-ethnic discord”. Thus pointing to the possible misinformation of these social media, more so in times of conflict.