Military denies involvement in network removed by Facebook

The military on Thursday said it was not behind a network of Facebook accounts that the social media giant took down on the grounds they were using deceptive behaviour to influence public debate.

Marking the first time it had taken down Thai accounts alleged to be linked to the government, Facebook said on Wednesday it had removed a Thailand-based network that included 77 accounts, 72 pages and 18 groups on Facebook and 18 accounts on Instagram, citing “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”.

Facebook said in a report the operation was linked to the Thai military’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) and targeted audiences in Thailand’s southern provinces, where conflict has flared on and off for decades as insurgent groups continue a guerrilla war to demand independence.

ISOC…