Facebook shuts hundreds of Russia-linked pages, accounts
By Associated Press
Jan 17, 2019 6:20 AM CST
FILE - In this March 29, 2018, file photo, the logo for Facebook appears on screens in New York's Times Square. Facebook announced Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, it would invest $300 million over three years in news initiatives with an emphasis in local coverage. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)   (Associated Press)

LONDON (AP) — Facebook says it has removed hundreds of Russia-linked pages, groups and accounts that it says were part of two big disinformation operations, in its latest effort to fight fake news.

The social media company said Thursday it took action after finding two networks "that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior" on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said in a blog post that one network operated in countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the other focused on Ukraine.

The people running the accounts represented themselves as independent news sources and posted on topics like anti-NATO sentiment and protest movements.

Gleicher says one network of 364 pages and accounts was linked to employees of Sputnik, a Russian state-run English-language news site.

Sputnik did not reply to emailed requests for comment.