UPDATE : After the publication of this report on May 22, 2019, Avaaz continued its investigations, and Facebook took further action to take down pages. The report has an update page and bellow, the main findings:
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Ahead of the EU elections, Avaaz conducted a Europe-wide investigation into networks of disinformation on Facebook. This was the first investigation of its kind and uncovered that far-right and anti-EU groups are weaponizing social media at scale to spread false and hateful content. Our findings were shared with Facebook, and resulted in an unprecedented shut down of Facebook pages just before voters head to the polls.

Our findings show that:

• Disinformation networks removed by Facebook as a result of this investigation posted content viewed an estimated 762 million times over the last three months. This means that, on average, these networks produced content that was seen almost 6 million times per day.
• In total, Avaaz reported over 700 suspect pages and groups to Facebook, which were followed by nearly 35million people and generated over 76million "interactions" (comments, likes, shares) in the last three months alone.
• Facebook has already taken down 132 of the pages and groups reported, accounting for about 30% of all interactions across the reported networks.
• Together, the pages removed had almost three times more followers (5.9 million) than the pages of the main European far right and anti-EU parties, League, AfD, VOX, Brexit Party, Rassemblement National and PiS, combined (2 million).

Our report focuses on two main aspects of disinformation on Facebook. Firstly, it exposes pages, accounts and groups that are spreading "disinformation content," classified as false or purposefully misleading information. Secondly, it identifies networks that are using "disinformation tactics," such as the systematic usage of fake accounts, misleading page name changes, or inauthentic coordination to amplify content in a way that appears to breach the social media platform’s own policies. We then define "disinformation networks" as groups of pages either spreading "disinformation content," using "disinformation tactics," or doing both. All the pages were reported to Facebook between April and early May 2019.

After demonstrating the scope of these disinformation networks, this report showcases real world examples: from fake accounts amplifying AfD content in Germany to pages spreading disinformation and white supremacist content in France, to dozens of pages created with generic themes in Italy to attract followers which are then turned into pro-League and 5 Star fake-news sharing pages.

Key findings include:

• In Germany , fake accounts and pages were boosting the reach of  the far-right AfD party and spreading disinformation on Facebook. We found an AfD politician who appears to have been involved in running multiple inauthentic accounts to amplify the AfD message. We also found illegal content on Facebook, including swastikas and posts supporting Holocaust deniers. Over 204 suspicious reported accounts, 21 pages/groups and 131 profiles have already been removed by Facebook.
• In France ,  60 pages and groups were identified: one network spreading disinformation, and others posting dehumanizing, racist and white nationalist content, targeting migrants in particular. In total, Facebook has already removed eight of these, including the main white nationalist page, and has demoted three others for repeatedly spreading disinformation.
• In Italy , 14 networks were discovered, many supporting the League and 5 Star movement, which spread either false information or content with divisive anti-migration and hateful messages ahead of the EU elections. Facebook shut down 24 pages with over 3.9 million followers as a result of Avaaz’s findings.
  
• In the UK , Avaaz identified three networks engaging in what appears to be suspected spam behavior to boost low-trust websites, and another set of pages and groups in open support of dangerous individuals and groups banned by Facebook, such as Tommy Robinson. Among these, Avaaz also identified numerous duplicate and fake profiles. Facebook has already removed 132 posts, 37 profiles and nine of the reported pages and groups.
  
• In Poland , three networks were found to be spreading divisive content about a range of anti-immigration and anti-EU topics, as well as false and misleading information, with great frequency and coordination across almost 200 pages and groups. Facebook has removed 30 Polish pages with 1.9 million followers.
  
• In Spain , three far-right networks were discovered spreading disinformation and hateful content. Most of the pages were supporting the far-right Vox party and were mainly managed by fake or duplicate accounts. Facebook removed 22 pages with over 1.7 million followers.