New Delhi, April 1: The Facebook on Monday removed 15 pages and accounts linked to individuals related to an Indian IT firm named Silver Touch, reported Reuters. The company is reported to be associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NaMo app. Earlier in the day, Facebook also took down 687 pages related to Congress’ IT cell. The action was taken ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

The social media platform said this is done because of 'coordinated inauthentic behaviour' that was observed on the site and such pages and accounts were taken down based on their behaviour. According to reports, Facebook said its investigation found that individuals used fake accounts and joined various groups to disseminate their content and increase engagement. Facebook Under Lens For 'Covering Up' Data Scandal.

It also removed 103 pages, groups and accounts on its platform and Instagram for indulging in inauthentic behaviour from Pakistan. The facebook claimed that these pages were linked to employees of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army. It said, “The individuals behind this activity used fake accounts to operate military fan pages, general Pakistani interest pages, and Kashmir community.” Facebook Data Breach: Social Media Giant Rebuilds Management After Privacy Scandal.

The social media giant also claimed that it is constantly working to detect and stop coordinated inauthentic behaviour because it didn't want its services to be used to manipulate people. To conduct free and fair elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) also asked the candidates to furnish the details of their social media accounts at the time of filing the nomination papers. The Lok Sabha elections will take place in seven phases beginning from April 11 and May 19. The results will be declared on May 23.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2019 07:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).