Covid-19: Facebook bans advertising agency behind Pfizer, AstraZeneca smear campaign
Facebook said Tuesday that 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.


A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts was traced back to Fazze, an advertising and marketing firm registered in the United Kingdom. Facebook said Fazze’s work was primarily done from Russia on behalf of an unknown client.
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 fake accounts targeted audiences in India, Latin America and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., using several social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
Russia has been actively marketing its COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, abroad in what some analysts see as an effort to score geopolitical points. But Facebook representatives did not speculate on the possible motivation behind the smear campaign.
The Fazze network also contacted social media influencers in several countries with offers to pay them for reposting the misleading content. That ploy backfired when influencers in Germany and France exposed the network’s offer.
Along with removing the network’s accounts, Facebook also banned Fazze from its platforms. Messages seeking comment from Fazze were not immediately returned on Tuesday.
Fazze’s effort did not get much traction online, with some posts failing to get even a single response. But, while the campaign may have fizzled, it’s noteworthy because of its effort to enlist social media influencers, according to Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy.
“Although it was sloppy and didn’t have very good reach, it was an elaborate set up,” Gleicher said on a conference call announcing Tuesday’s actions.
As social media companies have improved their ability to spot and remove fake accounts, disinformation campaigns have had to adjust. Paying social media influencers to repost their content provides the potential of exposure to the influencer’s audience, but there’s the risk that social media influencers will refuse or, as happened in this case, call them out.
Facebook investigators say some influencers did post the material, but later deleted it when stories about Fazze’s work began to emerge.
SOURCE: AP
China shows extreme concerns over border clashes between Pakistan, Afghanistan
- 7 hours ago

Pak-Afghan tensions: KSE-100 loses over 5,300 points
- 8 hours ago

Private Hajj scheme bookings to close at midnight on Friday
- 2 hours ago
In Jerusalem, Trump hails ‘historic dawn of a new Middle East’ after Gaza ceasefire deal
- 6 hours ago

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia sign MoU to strengthen anti-corruption, asset recovery cooperation
- 2 hours ago
.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Gaza Ceasefire Agreement Signed by U.S., Egypt, Türkiye, and Qatar
- an hour ago

Is America on the brink?
- 8 hours ago

Windows 10 support ends on October 14
- 8 hours ago
Ex-Pakistan Test cricketer Wazir Mohammad dies at 95
- 6 hours ago
Pakistan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan pledge stronger parliamentary ties for regional peace, prosperity
- 8 hours ago

After Lahore, religious party protests, and arson in Karachi
- 9 hours ago

PM Shehbaz reaffirms Pakistan’s support for Palestine in high-level meetings at Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit
- 2 hours ago