Facebook Shuts down Anti-Vaccine "Disinformation Laundromat"

Facebook shut down, on Tuesday, a disinformation operation which sought to spread Covid-19 vaccine hoaxes by duping social media influencers into backing false claims.

Facebook said it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to a mysterious advertising agency operating out of Russia that sought to pay social media influencers to smear COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca. The leading social network labeled the operation a "disinformation laundromat".

A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts was traced back to Fazze, an advertising and marketing firm working on behalf of an unknown client.

"The assumption was the influencers wouldn't do any of their own homework, but two did," Facebook global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo said while briefing journalists.

"It's really a warning -- be careful when someone is trying to spoon feed you a story. Do your own research," Nimmo added.

The network used fake accounts to spread misleading claims that disparaged the safety of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.

One claimed AstraZeneca’s shot would turn a person into a chimpanzee. The accounts targeted audiences in India, Latin America and, to a lesser extent, the US, using several social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.