Tech

Here are some of the ads Russia was posting to Facebook

Key Points
  • The House Intelligence Committee just released some of the ads that Russian-controlled groups bought on Facebook.
  • The ads ran ahead of and during the U.S. presidential election.
  • Facebook now says that about 150 million Americans may have been exposed to Russian content on Facebook and Instagram in the 2 years leading up to the 2016 election.
Vladimir Putin
Alexander Zemlianichenko | POOL | Reuters

Some of the ads posted to Facebook by Russia-affiliated groups ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election were recently published by the House Intelligence Committee.

The release follows a confirmation that about 150 million Americans may have been exposed to Russian content on Facebook and Instagram in the two years leading up to the 2016 election.

Facebook, Google and Twitter have all been testifying before Congress this week as lawmakers try to discover how each company allowed Russian influence and whether there needs to be more regulation of tech companies.

House Intelligence Committee

The ads released by the House Intelligence Committee feature posts for anti-Hillary Clinton gatherings, support for Black Lives Matter, anti-Black Lives Matter messages and an ad that calls for Facebook users to disavow Hillary Clinton and to support Trump.

House Intelligence Committee

Alone, the ads don't appear to look much different from what you're probably used to seeing on Facebook. But the contradictory messages across them suggest the Russian government was trying to exacerbate political divisions in the U.S. population.

House Intelligence Committee

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