TINANGGAL ng Facebook management ang aabot sa isandaang pekeng accounts at pages na nakapaloob sa dalawang network na inuugnay sa Armed Forces of the Philippines at Philippine National Police na nadiskubre sa China at Pilipinas.

Sa inilabas na pahayag ng Facebook, ilang social media accounts na nasa ilalim ng dalawang network, isang nakabase sa China at isa sa Pilipinas ay may “links” sa mga indibidwal na may kaugnayan sa AFP at PNP na nakitaan ng paglabag sa kanilang polisiya.

Sa isang virtual press briefing, inihayag ni Facebook’s Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher na may Fifty-seven Facebook accounts, 31 pages at 20 Instagram accounts, na bumubuo ng isang network na nag-o-operate sa Pilipinas ang kanilang inalis.

“We are attributing this network to the Philippine military and Philippine police. In particular, we found links behind this network that connected to both these organizations and individuals associated with these organizations,” ani Gleicher.

“Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to Philippine military and Philippine police,” pahayag pa ng Facebook hinggil sa umano’y mga pekeng account na sumusuporta rin kay Pangulong Duterte at sa anak nitong si Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte na posibleng tumakbo sa pagka presidente.

Ayon kay AFP Spokesman Marine Maj. General Edgard Arevalo, Education, Training and Doctrine Command chief, kasalukuyan nang pinag-aaralan ang nasabing pahayag ng Facebook na pag-alis ng ilang accounts and posts sa kanilang platform.

“In so far as the AFP is concerned, there are no accounts that the AFP maintain that were shutdown or removed by Facebook. All of them are up and running,” ani Arevalo.

Paliwanag pa ng tagapagsalita ng Hukbong Sandatahan, “The AFP upholds truth and accountability of network and SocMed account managers as to the contents of postings in our websites, pages, and accounts.”

Ayon sa social networking companies, inalis nila ang FB pages, accounts, groups at Instagram profiles ng dalawang unnamed networks na umano’y nakatutok sa Pilipinas para sa “coordinated inauthentic behavior” o manipulation campaigns sa platform.

Ayon kay Gleicher, ang mga pekeng account at pages ay na-trace sa ilang indibidwal mula sa Fujian Province sa China.

“They posted in Chinese, in Filipino, and in English about global news and current events, including Beijing’s interest in the South China Sea, HongKong, contents supportive of President Duterte and Sara Duterte’s potential run in the 2022 Presidential Elections,” ani Gleicher. (JESSE KABEL)