"Our priority, of course, is to remove the accounts with the largest footprint, with a high amount of activity and a broad reach," Facebook security manager Shabnam Shaik said in a blog post.
The social media giant acknowledged, however, that the purge will not remove all accounts that are spreading fake news. "We know we have to keep getting better," said Shaik.
"These accounts were targeted because they are fake. Full stop," a Facebook spokesman told CNNTech. He said that taking down fake accounts helps prevent hoaxes, spam, political trolling and fake news.
