Jerusalem – A U.S. think tank that analyzes misinformation online has found that an Israel-based influence campaign busted by Facebook had stumped for the winning candidate in the February 2019 Nigerian presidential elections.
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The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab report Friday foregrounds posts from accounts tied to the Tel Aviv-based political consulting company Archimedes, which appeared to smear Atiku Abubakar, President Muhammadu Buhari’s main opponent and former vice president of Nigeria.
One page pumped out a stream of content praising and boosting Buhari. Another purported to support Abubakar, only to target his supporters with anti-Abubakar posts later.
Facebook banned Archimedes from the platform Thursday for its “coordinated and deceptive behavior” and removed dozens of accounts primarily aimed at disrupting elections in African countries.