Facebook announced Tuesday it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to an advertising agency based in Russia that paid influencers to smear the COVID-19 vaccine sponsored by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
A network consisting of 65 Facebook and 243 Instagram accounts have been traced back to Fazze, an advertising agency working in Russia for an unknown client, Associated Press reported.
The network used fake accounts to spread misleading claims about the safety of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. According to one claim, AstraZeneca’s shot would turn a person into a chimpanzee. Many of the fake accounts were spread through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, targeting audiences in India, Latin America, and to a lesser extent, the U.S.
Some analysts believe that Russia has been actively marketing its COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, abroad to score geopolitical points.
In addition to contacting online influencers, the Fazze network offered to pay them for reposting misleading content, a ploy that backfired when Germany and France’s influencers exposed the offer, the AP reported..
Facebook also banned Fazze from its platforms in addition to removing the network’s accounts.
Léo Grasset, a French YouTuber, was among those contacted by Fazze. According to the AP, he was asked to upload a 45- to 60-second video on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube criticizing the mortality rate of the Pfizer vaccine.
“Too many red flags,” Grasset told the AP. “I decided not to do it.”