Facebook campaigners skirt rules in Guinea election, study says

The pro-Conde pages, most of which were were created late 2019 or on a single day in March 2020, have a combined following of some 800,000 people. — Dreamstime/TNS

Guinea’s ruling party is running a coordinated propaganda network on Facebook Inc ahead of October elections that’s inconsistent with transparent campaigning rules, Stanford University said in a report to be released Monday.

Researchers found 94 pages “clearly” tied to the ruling party, but failing to disclose that they’re being paid to post text and images in support of President Alpha Conde. Many of the administrators hide their identities by using names such as “Guineas, Open Your Eyes” or false names such as “Alpha the Democrat”, according to the report. Conde is seeking a third term in the Oct 18 vote.