< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 2 NEXT SLIDE > Facebook is cracking down on inauthentic accounts and spam ahead of the US midterm elections. © CNET

Facebook said Thursday it pulled down more than 800 pages and accounts that posted sensational political content for violating its rules against spam and "inauthentic behavior" ahead of the US midterm elections.



"The bulk of the inauthentic activity we see on Facebook is spam that's typically motivated by money, not politics. And the people behind it are adapting their behavior as our enforcement improves," wrote Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's Head of Cybersecurity Policy and Oscar Rodriguez, Product Manager in a blog post.

The social media giant said that it removed 559 Pages and 251 accounts for running afoul of its rules.

Some of the accounts included conservative news sites such as Right Wing News, which has more than 3.1 million followers, and left-wing groups such as Resistance and Reverb Press, according to The New York Times.

Facebook, which has more than 2 billion users worldwide, has been under pressure by lawmakers to protect the integrity of elections.

This story is developing...

Infowars and Silicon Valley: Everything you need to know about the tech industry's free speech debate.

Cambridge Analytica: Everything you need to know about Facebook's data mining scandal.