Around 3,000 ads with political messages from Russia were to be shown on Facebook in course of US presidential election in autumn 2016. According to group’s estimates, se were about ten million users.
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The advertisements, which appear to be related to a Russian advertising agency, would have focused on controversial issues such as gun ownership, immigration and LGBT rights, said Facebook’s communications vice Elliot Schrage. They would have reflected “political messages with a broad ideological spectrum”. In many cases, ads would have prompted users to like and subscribe to Facebook pages with corresponding views, said Schrage.
For 99 percent of ads were paid less than 1,000 dollars (about 854 euros). Just under half of ads had been published before election, 56 percent reafter. For some of advertisements had been paid with Russian currency rubles, said Schrage.
Facebook, Twitter, Google
Facebook had disclosed content of thousands of advertisements on Monday to three congressional committees, which are investigating Russia’s choice of interference, stressing that right to freedom of expression is taken seriously and never all undesirable content could be removed. “Even though we have taken all steps to control abuse, our platform will show political and social content that people will find offensive and that we will find offensive,” said Schrage.
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At beginning of September, Facebook had made election intervention public: The company found that 470 Facebook accounts and about 100,000 dollars (around 84,000 euros) were used for advertising.
Twitter has also conceded that it may have been used for Russian manipulations of US presidential election campaign. A Russian media group bought 2016 just under 2,000 ads or promoted tweets that could have been thought to influence U.S. election, company shared with. The media group associated with Russian government refore issued 274,000 dollars for advertisements directed at “users of mainstream media” and referred to RT News. Twitter profiles that coincided with Facebook profiles in question were blocked.
The company also agreed to cooperate with authorities, as well as Google.
