Facebook announced that it kicked longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone off of Instagram for spreading misinformation, Politico reports.
Stone, who is scheduled to begin his prison sentence next week, has been on a social media tear complaining about his prosecution and angling for a pardon from the president.
But on Wednesday, Facebook announced that the account was no longer available because he participated in an effort to spread “inauthentic” information.
Facebook says Stone was linked to a network of deceptive accounts but did not provide additional details.
Stone connected to network of fake accounts:
“The people behind this activity used fake accounts — some of which had already been detected and disabled by our automated systems — to pose as residents of Florida, post and comment on their own content to make it appear more popular than it is, evade enforcement, and manage Pages,” Facebook security policy chief Nathaniel Gleicher said.
“Several of these Pages had links to Proud Boys, a hate group we banned in 2018,” he added. “Some Pages appeared to have acquired followers from Pakistan and Egypt to make themselves seem more popular than they were.”
Facebook said the network was “most active” between 2015 and 2017 but has been largely dormant since.
Stone denies claim:
"The claim that I have utilized or controlled unauthorized or fake accounts on any platform is categorically and provably false," Stone said in a statement. "I have never owned or controlled any fake Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts."
"The assertion my accounts have any formal or informal connection to the Proud Boys is categorically and provably false," he added. "The banning of individuals who may choose to repost things that I have posted is an even more extraordinary act of inappropriate censorship."
