Russia Bought Facebook Ads To Help Trump, Sanders and Stein: Report
New report details sophisticated Russian effort to interfere in U.S. election.
In addition to supporting Donald Trump, Russian-funded ad buys on Facebook also promoted Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, according to a new report from Politico.
“Other advertisements paid for by shadowy Russian buyers criticized Hillary Clinton and promoted Donald Trump. Some backed Bernie Sanders and his platform even after his presidential campaign had ended, according to a person with knowledge of the ads,” Poltico notes.
The ads supporting Jill Stein reflected a sophisticated understanding of Americans politics.
“Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein,” the ad reads. “Trust me. It’s not a wasted vote. … The only way to take our country back is to stop voting for the corporations and banks that own us. #GrowaSpineVoteJillStein.”
Federal investigators are probing whether about 3,000 ads purchased on Facebook by the Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency was part of a larger Russian government scheme to meddle in the 2016 election.
Sources cited by Politico said that such ads backed Sanders long after his campaign ended and Clinton had won the Democratic primary.
Read the full Politico story here.
