On October 3, 2019, Facebook removed dozens of assets operated by a for-profit marketing firm and originating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from its platform for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior.

According to Facebook’s statement, the pages ran operations with the aim of “artificially increas[ing] engagement” in several countries, with a focus on the Middle East-North Africa region. In terms of content, many of the assets disseminated messaging critical of the Qatari government, along with criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Facebook attributed some of the assets to Charles Communication Pvt, Ltd., a UAE-based marketing firm. The DFRLab’s investigation corroborated that attribution and further suggested that the company had carried out its multiregional influence operation by delegating portions of it to actors based outside of the UAE.

The operation

Based on information gleaned from the pages themselves, the DFRLab’s analysis suggested that the operation targeted many regions, including North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa.