SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Facebook shuts fake accounts in Sudan, as fight for public opinion rages online
Reuters report that Facebook closed two large networks targeting Sudanese users linked to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and supporters of the former regime agitating for a military takeover.
In both networks, posts mimicked news media but offered skewed coverage of political events. The Sudanese Information ministry said former regime loyalists were “working systematically to undermine the transition and tarnish the image of the government”.
Representatives of Valent Projects, a firm contracted by the ministry to find the networks, said the networks were “active as recently as this week, agitating for a military takeover [amid pro-military protests], and in the aftermath of the coup attempt,” as they try to give the impression of grassroots support for anti-civilian protests.
With much of the Sudanese battle for public opinion occurring online, Reuters note that the 30% of Sudanese with internet access “depend heavily on social media for news”.