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Last April Facebook closed 80 accounts on the Facebook social network and another 6 on Instagram that were linked to people “associated with the Fuerza Popular party,” of Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori.
According to a monthly report from the company, these accounts “were aimed at national audiences” in Peru and were found as part of an internal investigation into “inauthentic behavior coordinated in the region before the elections” in the Andean country.
In its report, the Californian firm noted that the closed accounts are linked “to individuals associated with the Fuerza Popular party and individuals employed by Alfagraf, an advertising firm in Peru.”
Over the past month, the company also deleted 80 other Peruvian Facebook accounts, 12 pages, five groups, and three Instagram accounts “targeting” the northern Peruvian region of Ancash, which were found as part of its internal investigation “into alleged inauthentic behavior coordinated in the region ahead of Peru’s elections.”
Although in that case, it did not specify what the purpose was of such coordinations, Facebook indicated that it linked it “to an entity” known as Elohim Political Marketing.
The content of the closed pages was critical of the regional government, accusations of corruption, and congressional candidates from various parties.
Facebook limits political debate
As for the Fujimorista accounts, the content detected by Facebook focused on political content that replicated messages from the party’s candidates or criticized their opponents, something natural in any political contest. However, the company decided to close the right-wing accounts.
“Once we completed our investigation, we took action in early April, before the Peruvian elections. We found this network as part of our investigation into suspicious inauthentic behavior,” the company said.
Although “the people” behind the network “attempted to conceal their identities and coordination,” Facebook’s investigation found “ties to individuals associated with the Fuerza Popular party and individuals employed by Alfagraf, an advertising company in Peru.”
Pedro Castillo’s communist proposal
In Peru, right-wing Keiko Fujimori and communist candidate Pedro Castillo are running against each other.
The highly polarized campaign has already been marked by the appearance in Lima of a series of advertisements, asking Peruvians “not to vote for communism,” to defend the economic model, and to prevent Peru from becoming “Cuba or Venezuela.”
The extreme left candidate has already announced that if he wins the presidency, he will nationalize mining, gas, among other important commodities of the Peruvian economy. Castillo also defines himself as a Marxist-Leninist and has refused to condemn the atrocities and human rights abuses in Venezuela.
