Facebook Removes Accounts in Brazil With Ties to the Military

Facebook proprietor Meta Platforms stated on Thursday it had eliminated a community of social media accounts with ties to the Brazilian navy that posed as pretend nonprofits to minimize the hazards of deforestation.

Although the people concerned within the community had been energetic navy personnel, Meta’s investigation didn’t discover sufficient proof to ascertain in the event that they had been following orders or appearing independently, stated an individual with information of the matter.

Meta’s quarterly report might be damaging to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro. The far-right former military captain, a longtime skeptic of environmentalism, has deployed the armed forces to the Amazon on unsuccessful missions to cut back destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.

The takedown operation, Meta’s first to hit a community targeted totally on environmental points, may additionally add fireplace to Bolsonaro’s assaults on giant tech companies, which he accuses of stifling conservative voices on their platforms.

Critics say Bolsonaro and his supporters use the platforms to unfold harmful disinformation undermining Brazil’s democratic establishments.

In its report, Meta stated the unidentified community, which was restricted in scale and genuine engagement, used pretend accounts on Facebook and Instagram to submit initially about land reform and the pandemic in 2020 earlier than turning its focus to environmental points final yr.

“In 2021, they created Pages that posed as fictitious NGOs and activists focused on environmental issues in the Amazonas region of Brazil. They posted about deforestation, including arguing that not all of it is harmful, and criticizing legitimate environmental NGOs who spoke out against deforestation in the Amazon,” Meta stated in its report.

“Although the people behind (the network) attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to individuals associated with the Brazilian Military.”

Meta declined to supply further details about its investigation.

Brazil’s military stated in an announcement it was conscious of Meta’s allegations, and had reached out to the corporate for entry to the information underpinning its claims of navy involvement.

It stated it required all of its members to observe “truth, probity and honesty.”

Bolsonaro’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark.

© Thomson Reuters 2022