Russian-linked Facebook posts targeted fans of Hannity, Black Lives Matter

by Brooke Seipel - 05/10/18 11:54 AM ET

Russian trolls meddling in the United States 2016 presidential election promoted content on Facebook that was specifically targeted at fans of Fox News host Sean Hannity as well as Black Lives Matter supporters.

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 Facebook ads purchased by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian firm with ties to the Kremlin.

In the documents released Thursday, the audiences for different Facebook posts are identified.

Some of those groups listed include fans of Fox News prime-time personalities such as Hannity and former host Bill O’Reilly; Black Lives Matter supporters; HuffPost Black Voices readers; veterans; conservative Christians; “people who like being patriotic;” and the LGBTQ community. {mosads}

One ad released Thursday by the group “Stop A.I.” shows a cartoon of what appears to be the head of a Hispanic man in a sombrero on top of a parasite with the caption: “About 20 million parasites live in the U.S. illegally.”

Another ad released Thursday, by the group “Don’t Shoot,” includes a video of a “forceful arrest” of a homeless black man.

The intelligence community concluded after the 2016 election that Russian-linked groups attempted to affect the election’s outcome through a disinformation campaign on social media.

Special counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian entities earlier this year with engaging in “information warfare” during the election, alleging they used social media and other sophisticated measures to sow discord in the U.S.

According to court documents, Mueller alleges that the Internet Research Agency “had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”

All of the ads released Thursday can be downloaded and read at the House Intelligence Committee Democrats’ website.

Read some of the Russian ads below:

Russian Sponsored FB Posts in 2nd Quarter 2016 by M Mali on Scribd