The Kremlin is crying foul on Facebook, accusing the social media giant of censorship after it took down more than 200 pages and accounts that were run by the Russia-based Internet Research Agency — the "troll factory" that is under indictment for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
When it took down the pages this week, the American company said, "The [Internet Research Agency] has no place on Facebook." The company removed 70 Facebook accounts and 138 pages, along with 65 Instagram accounts and a number of ads. Most of the removed material was in Russian and included commentary on domestic and international events.
On Thursday, Facebook's move came up during a briefing by Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who was asked whether the U.S. company had gone too far.
"Yes, it is [a manifestation of censorship toward Russian mass media]," Peskov said, quoted by state-run Tass media.
Facebook's move also snared the Russian Federal News Agency, as NPR's Lucian Kim reports from Moscow.