Meta closes nearly 1,600 fake Facebook and Instagram accounts allegedly spying on journalists and activists

Share Meta, formerly known as Facebook, says nearly 50,000 journalists and activists have been the target of spies on Facebook and Instagram. On Thursday, Meta announced that it removed around 1,600 fake accounts from its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, after seven "surveillance companies" were found to be using them to target journalists and human rights defenders. The companies were allegedly hired to rig the devices and accounts of journalists and activists. Their destinations were reportedly in several different places around the world. CBS News reports that companies were based in China, India, North Macedonia and Israel, and preyed…