INDIA & PAKISTAN : ''FACEBOOK REMOVES FAKE ACCOUNTS''

FACEBOOK removes fake accounts linked to India and Pakistan.

A total of  712 accounts  and  390 pages  have been taken down in an ongoing effort against  'coordinated inauthentic behaviour.

Following an intense investigation, social media giant Facebook said on Monday it  had taken down profiles, groups and pages from four separate networks  -one in Pakistan and three in India   -after they were found to be run from fake accounts and were engaged in deceptive behaviour.

''When we take down one of these networks, it's because of their deceptive behavior it's not because of the content they are sharing,'' said Nathaniel Gleicher, head of  Cyber security  for Facebook, in an online video in which he explained the takedown actions.

A total of  712 accounts  and  390 pages from India and Pakistan have been taken down in the action announced on Monday.

''The takedown is because there is this network of  fake accounts  that they are using to conceal their identity and make these pages look independent, when in fact they are not,'' Gleicher told Dawn in a conference call on Monday morning.

''These pages, groups and accounts represent themselves as independent but in fact are part of a coordinated operation.''