Russian Ads, Now Publicly Released, Show Sophistication of Influence Campaign
The New York Times’s Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Adam Entous, and Karoun Demirjian report that lawmakers on Wednesday released a sample of Facebook ads purchased by Russian operatives, which aimed to divide Americans on social issues surrounding the 2016 presidential race. Some Russian posts sought to convince voters that they should be concerned about the rise of Islam in America. The authors add, “In Wednesday morning’s hearing, Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.), the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, cited a free post by a Russian-controlled account called Army of Jesus depicting Clinton dressed as Satan, with red horns and boxing gloves, appearing to punch Jesus, who also was wearing boxing gloves.”