Jul 8, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Facebook bans accounts linked to Roger Stone and far-right Proud Boys

Rashaan Ayesh

Roger Stone wears sunglasses as he gets into a SUV — Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Facebook announced Wednesday it removed nearly 100 social media accounts and pages with links to Trump associate Roger Stone and the Proud Boys, a far-right group, for posting misinformation.

Why it matters: Facebook began looking into the accounts as part of an investigation into the Proud Boys' attempt to return to Facebook following a 2018 ban. The accounts posed as Florida residents and shared misinformation about local politics, land and water resource bills as well as misinformation about Stone's trial, books and media appearances.

The network of accounts consisted of 50 Facebook pages, 54 Facebook accounts and four Instagram accounts.
Nearly 260,000 people followed more than one of the removed Facebook pages, and 61,500 people followed one or more of the Instagram accounts.
The groups and individuals behind the accounts spent about $308,000 on advertising.

Context: Stone was sentenced to prison for three years for crimes uncovered by the Mueller investigation that include obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering. He is due to report this month.

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Facebook bans accounts linked to Roger Stone and far-right Proud Boys

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