STOCKHOLM, Oct 11 Reuters Meta Platforms Inc META.O, opens new tab said on Friday it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russianspeakers in Moldova, ahead of the country39;s Oct. 20 election, for violation of the company39;s policy on fake accounts.

Moldova, with a population of about 2.5 million people, is located between Romania and Ukraine, and has a Romanianspeaking majority and a large Russianspeaking minority.

Its proWestern President Maia Sandu seeks a second term in a presidential election this month, when the country will also hold a referendum on joining the European Union.

The fake accounts posted criticism of President Sandu, proEU politicians, and close ties between Moldova and Romania, and supported proRussia parties in Moldova, Meta said.

The company said its operation centered around about a dozen fictitious, Russianlanguage news brands posing as independent entities with presence on multiple internet services, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, OK.ru, and TikTok.

Meta said it removed seven Facebook accounts, 23 pages, one group and 20 accounts on Instagram for violating its policy, which is known as coordinated inauthentic behaviour policy.

About 4,200 accounts followed one or more of the 23 pages and around 335,000 accounts followed one or more of the Instagram accounts, Meta said.

The company also said that the majority of the followers of the fake accounts were based outside of Moldova, which made them appear more popular….