Facebook knew of Honduran president’s manipulation campaign – and let it continue for 11 months

Juan Orlando Hernandez falsely inflated his posts' popularity for nearly a year after the company was informed about it

Facebook allowed the president of Honduras to artificially inflate the appearance of popularity on his posts for nearly a year after the company was first alerted to the activity.

The astroturfing - the digital equivalent of a bussed-in crowd - was just one facet of a broader online disinformation effort that the administration has used to attack critics and undermine social movements, Honduran activists and scholars say.