Pro-Wagner accounts keep showing up on Facebook and Instagram after Meta's ban, report … – CNN

CNN  —  A network of dozens of accounts on Facebook and Instagram have been promoting Russia’s Wagner mercenary group to hundreds of thousands of followers, months after Meta vowed to remove content glorifying the group, according to a new report by disinformation experts. The study found more than 110 pro-Wagner accounts operating in more than a dozen languages across Meta’s platforms. Many of the posts call for recruits, include images of graphic violence or express praise for a group the Biden administration has labeled a transnational criminal organization. Although there isn’t credible evidence directly linking the social media accounts to the Wagner group, many of them at least posed as the organization, said the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), which published the report Thursday. Even if the accounts are not directly affiliated with the Wagner group, ISD said, the content they created still likely violates Meta’s terms. The apparent persistence of pro-Wagner content on Meta’s platforms underscores how the private military group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin — or perhaps the organization’s admirers — has been able to skirt a Meta policy designed to combat so-called “dangerous organizations.” Meta’s algorithms also appeared to recommend pro-Wagner pages and groups to ISD
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