By Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) Twitter says it has identified and removed nearly 6,000 accounts it says were part of a coordinated effort by Saudi government agencies and individuals to advance the country’s geopolitical interests. Separately, Facebook says it has removed hundreds of Facebook accounts, groups and pageslinked to inauthentic behavior from two separate groups from Vietnam and the country of Georgia. The latest crackdowns on state-backed social media campaigns came as tech companies step up efforts to tackle misinformation ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential elections. The efforts followed revelations that Russians bankrolled thousands of fake political ads during the 2016 elections.
