Russian operatives used Facebook ads to exploit divisions over black political activism and Muslims
Source: The Washington Post
By Adam Entous, Craig Timberg and Elizabeth Dwoskin September 25 at 5:15 PM
The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African-American rights groups including Black Lives Matter and others suggesting that these same groups pose a rising political threat, say people familiar with the covert influence campaign.
The Russian campaign taking advantage of Facebooks ability to simultaneously send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics -- also sought to sow discord among religious groups. Other ads highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women.
These targeted messages, along with others that have surfaced in recent days, highlight the sophistication of an influence campaign slickly crafted to mimic and infiltrate U.S. political discourse while also seeking to heighten tensions between groups already wary of one another.
The nature and detail of these ads has troubled investigators at Facebook, on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Justice Department, say people familiar with the advertisements who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share matters still under investigation.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/russian-operatives-used-facebook-ads-to-exploit-divisions-over-black-political-activism-and-muslims/2017/09/25/4a011242-a21b-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html
Wash. state Desk Jet
(3,426 posts)was also click bait on facebook in the form of an ad.
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)TygrBright
(20,760 posts)Same assholes, same shit.
Concern trolling, "yes, but"ers, the whole divisive toolbox.
Of course, we DO make a pretty easy and receptive target for that sort of thing.
But I think it's a testament to the dedication of site admins and moderators that things haven't been a whole lot worse.
We will always have some, because we DO want to give sincere diversity of opinion the benefit of the doubt. But so far we've managed to walk the line between diversity and disunity without self-annihilation.
appreciatively,
Bright
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)KY_EnviroGuy
(14,491 posts)Being a relative newcomer, I fell for it but backed out quick enough, once I realized the motive.
Should have known sooner from the poor grammar and hateful rhetoric. Hopefully, never again!
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,017 posts)and we are seeing the high level result when done on a national/global scale.
TomCADem
(17,387 posts)...why even bother contributing Trump when Russia can directly fund ads designed to benefit inept U.S. politicians.
xor
(1,204 posts)They threw stuff out and hoped some it stuck and that it would cause unrest. I know I mentioned before that I am extremely leery of anything that seems to fit too well with what I think/want to hear. That we are all capable of being manipulated and turning into pawns for various groups. I don't just mean the Russians, Chinese or other outsiders either. Obviously even from our own intelligence agencies. Which, surprisingly, DUers seem to have a much higher opinion of these days (including myself)
Then again, this sort of thought process is kind of what Russians specifically seem to be going for. Make it so knowing what is real and not real becomes increasingly impossible to determine. To the point that people just say it's all unknowable anyway, so just pick a side and go to war. Right or wrong.
KPN
(15,645 posts)we sure are stupid.
How the hell can we call ourselves great?