Facebook Will Tell You if Russian Trolls Slide Into Your DMs

Facebook is testing a new Messenger feature that could make it easier to spot direct letters from Russian trolls.

Every bit was first reported by Motherboard, the feature offers useful warnings almost sketchy unknown contacts who DM y'all.

Facebook's Dalya Browne confirmed the trial to PCMag, stating: "we are testing a new feature that provides people with more context on someone they may not have previously connected with in Messenger. This context will allow them to make a more informed decision about whether or not they'd like to bulletin that individual."

The warnings could indicate the country where the person's phone number is registered and whether the person has a similar name as an existing Facebook friend or Messenger contact. That last fleck of data may help people determine if the sender is impersonating someone they actually know.

Motherboard posted a screenshot of one of the warnings, which information technology obtained from Facebook user Erin Gallagher. The warning stated that the sender of a DM proverb "Hello" had logged in using a phone number from Russia, recently created their account, was using Messenger without Facebook, and was unlike from one of her friend's on the social network with the same name.

This new trial comes after Facebook in April shut down 273 accounts linked to the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Bureau, a notorious Russian "troll farm" which published tens of thousands of divisive political posts during the 2022 presidential election. Facebook CEO Marker Zuckerberg in Nov said he was "dead serious" about stopping Russian Facebook abuse. The post-obit month, the visitor launched tool that lets yous see all the Cyberspace Research Agency-created Facebook pages and Instagram accounts you lot liked or followed between January 2022 and Baronial 2022.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag'due south adept on fitness and smart home products. Teaching yoga for almost ten years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fitness trackers, center rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength preparation machines, treadmills, and more. Angela as well tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, merely to name a few.