Facebook, Russia and election propaganda: What you need to know
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the social media platform turned over to Congress 3,000 political propaganda ads tied to Russian accounts which were used during the 2016 election. Here’s a breakdown of the complicated relationship between Facebook, Russia and Congress’ election investigation.
Facebook has agreed to release to Congress advertisements purchased by accounts tied to a Russian "troll farm" that were run during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Colin Stretch, Facebook's general counsel, said Thursday Facebook came to an agreement with congressional investigators to release the ads and some of the information related to them.
"We believe it is vitally important that government authorities have the information they need to deliver to the public a full assessment of what happened in the 2016 election," Stretch said in a statement. "That is an assessment that can be made only by investigators with access to classified intelligence and information from all relevant companies and industries — and we want to do our part. Congress is best placed to use the information we and others provide to inform the public comprehensively and completely."
Facebook revealed earlier this month it tracked $100,000 in ad spending to 470 fake accounts tied to a Russian "troll farm" that was known to promote pro-Kremlin propaganda. The ad spending was connected to roughly 3,000 ads, which were run from June 2015 to May 2017.
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