US Elections: Meta’s crackdown on fake accounts coincides with police investigation into Russian-backed voter bribery

Meta Platforms said on Friday it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian-speakers in Moldova ahead of the country’s Oct. 20 election, for violation of the company’s policy on fake accounts.

Authorities in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state lying between Romania and Ukraine, said they had blocked dozens of Telegram channels and chat bots linked to a drive to pay voters to cast “no” ballots in a referendum on EU membership held alongside the presidential election.