Facebook has deleted 107 pages, groups and Facebook accounts, as well as 41 Instagram accounts created in Russia and operating in Ukraine, for participating in coordinated misbehavior, Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Facebook Cybersecurity Policy, said during a conference call on Thursday.
"The people behind these accounts were mostly represented by Ukrainians and used various fictitious accounts, at the same time sharing local Ukrainian news on various topics such as weather, protests, NATO, and school health. We found some technical overlaps with activities in Russia, which we observed before the mid-term elections in the United States," Gleicher said.
Gleicher said 26 pages, 77 Facebook accounts and four groups were identified, as well as 41 Instagram accounts. He said about 180,000 Facebook users and more than 55,000 Instagram users were following one or more of these pages.
Advertising costs amounting to about $25,000 on Facebook and Instagram were paid in Russian rubles. The first publications appeared in January 2018, and the last - in December 2018.
"We have not yet completed the review of organic content coming from these accounts," he added.
As previously reported, Facebook in November 2018 blocked 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts used for "coordinated misbehavior" in the U.S. midterm elections.