Facebook removes hundreds of fake accounts linked to Iran opposition

Facebook has removed hundreds of fake accounts linked to an exiled Iranian opposition group, the Associated Press reported.

The social media platform said in a statement on Tuesday that it removed more than 300 accounts that were part of a network tied to Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition body previously designated a terrorist group by the US.

According to the statement, the accounts have been run by “what appears to be a tightly organized troll farm linked to an exiled militant opposition group from Iran”.

The accounts, including Facebook profiles, pages, groups and Instagram accounts, posted content critical of Iran’s government while it “routinely praised the activity of the MEK”.

The company also announced that it removed dozens of accounts from Iran, Israel and Egypt.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella group that includes MEK, denied the existence of an Albanian troll farm affiliated with MEK and said no accounts affiliated with it or the MEK have been removed.

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