We researched some of the biggest Facebook groups promoting the Canadian trucker protest before they were shut down yesterday, and noticed something was a bit off.
The only individual admin running some of the most active groups was one woman in Missouri. Or so it seemed.🧵⤵️ https://t.co/jpGEHgug2u
The woman's years-old Facebook account had no real history of political activity until January 2022, when it suddenly posted a fundraiser for Donald Trump.
Below the post was a comment from the woman's daughter:
"I like how you hacked my moms shit but you won't answer my dm." https://t.co/FCWMdnzL3G
I called the woman on her publicly listed number, and she said her account had been hacked.
The stolen account was administering a collection Facebook groups started between Jan. 26 and Jan. 28 that had amassed more than 300,000 followers that had 7,500 posts.
.@twiceanya, @benjaminopowers and I looked into the role disinformation, social media and suspicious online activity are playing in the events unfolding on the streets of Ottawa.
Here's our latest for @gridnews: https://t.co/06JNChXhg7
@Facebook has not yet responded to questions from @gridnews about this.
Its parent company, @Meta, mentioned "scammers" in media statements about the removal of Freedom Convoy groups — but did not address groups run by operators hiding behind a hacked personal Facebook account. https://t.co/HJOc1b9YRk
We're continuing to follow this story at @gridnews.
Please follow my colleagues @twiceanya & @benjaminopowers and feel free to shoot us an email or DM if you have tips or leads for us to follow.
We're continuing to report on this story at @gridnews. If you're following along, please see our latest:
https://t.co/jYZ90KhJKY