Facebook says it removed troll farm run by Nicaraguan government

FILE PHOTO: Woman holds smartphone with Facebook logo in front of a displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - Facebook said on Monday that last month it removed a troll farm with more than 1,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts which it was said was run by the Nicaraguan government and the country's ruling party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

The social media company said the troll farm - a coordinated effort to manipulate public discourse using fake accounts - was intended to amplify pro-government and anti-opposition content. It said it had been active on its platforms since 2018 and was primarily operated by staff of TELCOR, Nicaragua's telecoms watchdog, working from the postal service headquarters in capital Managua.