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SAO PAULO— Fb proprietor Meta Platforms FB.O stated on Thursday it had eliminated a community of social media accounts with ties to the Brazilian army that posed as faux nonprofits to minimize the risks of deforestation.
Though the people concerned within the community had been lively army 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 scale back destruction of the world’s largest rainforest. Learn full story
The takedown operation, Meta’s first to hit a community targeted totally on environmental points, may additionally add hearth to Bolsonaro’s assaults on massive 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 faux accounts on Fb and Instagram to publish initially about land reform and the pandemic in 2020 earlier than turning its focus to environmental points final 12 months.
“In 2021, they created Pages that posed as fictitious NGOs and activists targeted on environmental points within the Amazonas area of Brazil. They posted about deforestation, together with arguing that not all of it’s dangerous, and criticizing legit environmental NGOs who spoke out in opposition to deforestation within the Amazon,” Meta stated in its report.
“Though the individuals behind (the community) tried to hide their identities and coordination, our investigation discovered hyperlinks to people related to the Brazilian Army.”
Meta declined to offer further details about its investigation.
Brazil’s military stated in a press release it was conscious of Meta’s allegations, and had reached out to the corporate for entry to the information underpinning its claims of army involvement.
It stated it required all of its members to follow “fact, probity and honesty.”
Bolsonaro’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark.
—Reporting by Brad HaynesWriting and extra reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; modifying by John Stonestreet and Sandra Maler
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