Facebook alleged last 6 September that it had found an influence operation likely based in Russia spent US$ 100,000 on thousands of ads promoting divisive social and political messages in a two-year-period through May.
Facebook, a social media network, said that many of the 3,000 ads promoted 470 "inauthentic" accounts and pages that it has now suspended. The ads spread polarizing views on topics including immigration, race and gay rights, rather than backing a particular political candidate, it said.
Another US$ 50,000 went to about 2,200 "potentially politically related" ads and might have been bought by Russians in potential violation of U.S. election law.
Facebook announced the findings in a blog post by its chief security officer, Alex Stamos, and said that it was cooperating with federal inquiries into influence operations during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The company said it found no link to any presidential campaign. Three-fourths of the divisive issue ads were national in scope, and the rest did not appear to reflect targeting of political swing-states as voting neared.
"The ads and accounts appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum — touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights. About one-quarter of these ads were geographically targeted, and of those, more ran in 2015 than 2016," Stamos said.
Facebook did not print the names of any of the suspended pages, but some of them included such words as "refugee" and "patriot." Many of the pages were connected to each other in some way.
Even if no laws were violated, the pages ran afoul of Facebook requirements for authenticity, setting up the suspensions.
Facebook, a social media network, said that many of the 3,000 ads promoted 470 "inauthentic" accounts and pages that it has now suspended. The ads spread polarizing views on topics including immigration, race and gay rights, rather than backing a particular political candidate, it said.
Another US$ 50,000 went to about 2,200 "potentially politically related" ads and might have been bought by Russians in potential violation of U.S. election law.
Facebook announced the findings in a blog post by its chief security officer, Alex Stamos, and said that it was cooperating with federal inquiries into influence operations during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The company said it found no link to any presidential campaign. Three-fourths of the divisive issue ads were national in scope, and the rest did not appear to reflect targeting of political swing-states as voting neared.
"The ads and accounts appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum — touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights. About one-quarter of these ads were geographically targeted, and of those, more ran in 2015 than 2016," Stamos said.
Facebook did not print the names of any of the suspended pages, but some of them included such words as "refugee" and "patriot." Many of the pages were connected to each other in some way.
Even if no laws were violated, the pages ran afoul of Facebook requirements for authenticity, setting up the suspensions.
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