Sites criticized over Russian ads
Lawmakers slam social media sites for inaction over ads and posts during 2016 campaign.
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Wednesday released a dramatic trove of Facebook ads and other social media posts by Russian operatives that sought to aid Donald Trump’s presidential campaign last year and deepen U.S. political divisions over immigration, gay rights, guns, race and religion.
Russian operatives were secretly able to make use of hot-button political issues and sophisticated targeting on Facebook and Instagram to reach nearly 150 million Americans, nearly half the U.S. population, the lawmakers were told.
Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, which held separate hearings Wednesday, leveled blistering criticism at Facebook, Twitter and Google for failing to act aggressively to block Russian use of their social media platforms to sow division before and after last year’s election.
Although most of the Russian ads and posts focused on social issues, some specifically aimed to help Trump and damage his rival, Hillary Clinton. Some urged viewers to attend Trump political rallies, or falsely claimed voters could cast ballots on Twitter. Some of the phony ads received tens of thousands of clicks.
“They were able to develop a significant following for a relatively small amount of money,” Colin Stretch, Facebook’s general counsel, told the House committee. “It was undertaken by people I think who understand social media. These people were not amateurs.”
A Facebook user named “Being Patriotic” posted an ad on July 23, 2016, for example, showing Clinton’s face covered by a black X. It was targeted to Trump supporters in New York and urged them to attend an upcoming rally in Brooklyn. “Hillary Clinton is the co-author of Obama’s antipolice and anti-Constitutional propaganda,” it read.
The ad was traced to a Kremlin-backed entity in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was bought online and paid for in Russian rubles, costing the equivalent of about $250, according to data Facebook provided the House committee.
As many as 15,255 Facebook users saw the ad in their news feed and 1,312 clicked on it.
Similarly, a Russian-linked entity that called itself “Heart of Texas,” bought an ad denouncing “Obama’s and Hillary’s policy” allowing “illegals” to get “amnesty” in the United States, warning, “DON’T MESS WITH TX BORDER PATROL. ALWAYS GUIDED BY GOD.”
It called Clinton “Killary Rotten Clinton” and promoted an event titled, “Get Ready to Secede!”
Similarly, an ad on Instagram in August 2016 purchased in rubles by a user named “american.made” showed a photo of Trump giving a thumbs-up. “Florida goes Trump,” read the ad, which was targeted at users who identified themselves as gun owners, conservatives, Trump supporters and tea party members.
In addition to Florida, it went to Instagram users in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. It received 85 clicks.
A Facebook ad by “Secured Borders” did not mention either candidate. It showed a sign reading “No Invaders Allowed” on what appeared to be the southwest border. Data showed that the ad was purchased in Russian rubles, for about $1,600, and was seen by as many as 97,000 Facebook users.
Sen. Richard Burr, RN.C., chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said Russians set up a Facebook account with 250,000 followers that promoted a May 2016 protest at a Houston mosque against the “Islamization of Texas” — while another Russian account with 320,000 followers encouraged Muslims to attend a counter-protest.
Dozens of people showed up and the competing protests were covered by the local news.
“People were brought together to foment conflict,” Burr said. “Simply put, you must do better to protect the American people and, frankly, your users from this kind of manipulation.”