Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation

https://archive.is/Oz5FL

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/01/facebook-disinformation-takedown/

(excerpt)

Facebook said it plans to inform 200 or so journalists who were recruited by the Russian operatives.

One of the journalists who wrote columns for Peace Data, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his career, said that an editor reached out to him through a direct message on Twitter in July offering $200 per article.

He said he pursued the opportunity in part because he had lost his job in the pandemic. He wrote articles about the conspiracy-theory movement QAnon, the coronavirus, and U.S. militarism’s role in climate change. The journalist, who said he considers himself a socialist, said he had not been informed by Facebook and had no idea that the website, while appearing disorganized, was run by a Russian group.