Facebook: Sources Likely in Russia Bought Ads During US Campaign

Facebook: Sources Likely in Russia Bought Ads During US Campaign

Facebook says an operation likely based in Russia spent $100,000 to buy advertisements promoting political and social issues in the United States.

The company said about 3,000 ads were bought by people operating nearly 500 fake Facebook accounts. The ads ran between June 2015 and May 2017, within the period of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

In a blog post, Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said most of the ads did not specifically name the U.S. election or any candidates. Rather, they appeared aimed at “amplifying divisive social and political messages” on a range of major issues. These included LGBT rights, race relations and gun control.

A Facebook investigation² found the fake accounts were related to each other and “likely operated out of Russia.” The company said it does not allow “inauthentic” accounts and all were removed.

Facebook also said it had identified another 2,200 ads bought for about $50,000 that “might have originated in Russia.” These included ads bought by accounts with IP addresses in the U.S. that were set to the Russian language.

Facebook said the behavior shown in the ad buys is similar to methods used by what it calls “false amplifiers” who operated during the 2016 campaign. Methods included the posting of fake stories on social media to misinform and confuse the public.

Earlier this year, Facebook announced several new policies intended to prevent users from spreading misinformation and fake news.

The company said it is continuing to investigate possible ways Russian sources may have used its service as a way to influence the 2016 election. It added that it is cooperating with a federal investigation into the issue led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller’s investigation is also looking into any possible contacts between then-candidate Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team and Russian officials.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

promote – v. make people aware of something

fake – adj. false, not true

amplify¹ – v. increase in strength

divisive – adj. causing disagreements between people

LGBT – acronym³ lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender

inauthentic – adj. not real

originate – v. cause something to exist

confuse – v. make something difficult to understand

1 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。