Facebook removes series of fake accounts 'designed to influence US mid-term elections'

Facebook has deleted a series of pages believed to have been set up to manipulate the US mid-term elections in November.

The social media giant said it removed 32 accounts from Facebook and Instagram because they were involved in "co-ordinated" behaviour and appeared to be fake.

The company said it does not know who is behind the efforts, but admitted there may be connections to Russia.

The social network said in a blog that more than 9,500 Facebook posts had been made by the fake accounts, as well as one piece of content on Instagram.

It said some connections were found between the accounts it removed and the accounts connected to Russia's Internet Research Agency which it removed before and after the 2016 US presidential elections.

In total, more than 290,000 accounts followed at least one of the fake pages.

The most followed fake Facebook Pages were "Aztlan Warriors," "Black Elevation", "Mindful Being" and "Resisters".