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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Business
Nick Robins-Early

Disinformation for profit: scammers cash in on conspiracy theories

One hand holds a gold-colored credit card while the other types on a laptop.
For-profit disinformation networks are capitalizing on the thirst for conspiracy content on Facebook. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

When Facebook removed dozens of groups dedicated to Canada’s anti-government “Freedom Convoy” protests earlier this month, it didn’t do so because of extremism or conspiracies rife within the protests. It was because the groups were being run by scam artists.

Networks of spammers and profiteers, some based as far afield as Vietnam or Romania, had set up the groups using fake or hacked Facebook accounts in an attempt to make money off of the political turmoil.

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