Facebook shuts down Iran, Russia accounts

San Francisco: Facebook said Tuesday it stopped stealth misinformation campaigns from Iran and Russia, shutting down accounts as part of its battle against fake news ahead of elections in the United States and elsewhere.

Facebook removed more than 650 pages, groups and accounts identified as “networks of accounts misleading people about what they were doing,” according to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

While the investigation was ongoing, and US law enforcement notified, content from some the pages was traced back to Iran and from others linked to groups previously linked to Russian intelligence operations, the social network said.