[readarticle]

Facebook said it tied about 100 Facebook and Instagram accounts and pages to the alleged operation tied to people linked to the French military. The pages had about 5,000 followers on Facebook, the company said.

Two separate networks of Russian pages, both allegedly linked to a Russian troll group, were also removed. Those pages had about 6 million followers, Facebook said.

It’s not immediately clear from the article whether those Russian troll groups were the specific ones active alongside and with the French one in CAR, Niger etc, but some perspective is in order nonetheless.

[Hokusai]

> 5,000 followers on Facebook

It seems a personal initiative more than an state backed one. But Facebook will run with the false equivalency.

Facebook is trying to fight back regulations with missinformation and smear campaigns. This are signs of a company that thinks that is above the law.

[dqv]

This is what large companies do. The propagandistic terms known as public relations and reputation management. I just hope people won't think this is over once Facebook is dealt with.

>smear campaigns

France was also running a smear campaign in a foreign country. Just like Russia. Just like the US. Just like tons of countries. I don't think anyone should be doing it but you've got governments and quasi-governments (corporations) engaging in this behavior of steering public opinion. Neither of them are righteous.

[satisfaction]

Or a state backed initiative in the early stages. In order to get to 5 million you have to pass 5,000.

[Mirioron]

>This are signs of a company that thinks that is above the law.

I don't think this is the case at all. These regulations aren't exactly law that has been around for a while. It's actively being created and lobbied for right now. Obviously Facebook is going to respond to it.

[Bakary]

The French military probably does have the budget and know-how to even compete with the Russians in this sphere.

[robotnikman]

Its interesting to see some European nations stepping up their game in cyber warfare and disinformation. Usually you hear about the USA, Russia, China, sometimes the UK, but rarely any of the other European nations.