Last year, Twitter staff traced thousands of fake accounts on its platform to a small number of Predictvia employees, the former Twitter employees, who said they were involved with that probe, told Reuters. Its analysts found two Twitter accounts linked to the company, one of which describes itself online as a civil organization seeking to post “truthful content” ahead of Guatemala’s national elections in June. The Predictvia network also included other social media platforms, Meta said. It said in its report that the investigation into Predictvia was triggered by Reuters questions earlier this year.Īround 6,700 accounts followed one or more of the Facebook pages in Predictvia’s influence network, and it had 400 followers on Instagram, Meta said. Meta says it regularly takes down disinformation and misinformation operations in order to maintain the integrity of its platform. Government officials in Honduras and Guatemala did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the alleged misinformation operation against politicians in their countries. Meta said it had banned Predictvia – which it said operated from both Venezuela and the United States – from its services and had sent it a cease and desist letter. Reuters was unable to determine who Predictvia was working for, or to assess the success of its misinformation efforts. Predictvia Chief Executive Ernesto Olivo Valverde and other senior staff did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Reuters. “There isn’t a single narrative that they’re pushing across different countries it tends to be much more tailored per country.” “It’s a classic pattern that you tend to see with for-hire influence operations,” said Ben Nimmo, Meta’s Global Threat Intelligence Lead. Twitter did not respond to requests for comment on this article. The extent of the company’s Twitter activity established by the news agency has not been previously disclosed. Predictvia also ran extensive information operations that sought to interfere with politics in Honduras and Guatemala on Twitter, two former Twitter employees, who asked to stay anonymous, told Reuters. Neither politician returned a request for comment. The accounts posted criticisms of the mayor of the Guatemalan city of San Juan Sacatepequez, Juan Carlos Pellecer, and in Honduras they focused on alleged political corruption and criticism of the president of the Congress, Luis Redondo. Meta analysts found, however, that Predictvia ran a network of fake accounts – four on Instagram and 24 on Facebook, along with 54 Facebook pages – that posed as news media outlets, journalists, and lifestyle brands. Predictvia, which is registered as a business in Florida, says on its website that it stands on the “front line of the fight against misinformation” and combats “coordinated efforts to manipulate public discourse.” SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Miami-based digital marketing firm was behind a series of covert political influence operations in Latin America over the last year, Facebook-owner Meta said this week, a rare exposé of an apparent U.S.-based misinformation-for-hire outfit.
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