One of the Facebook ads bought by Russians focused on the Black Lives Matter movement and was targeted to users in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, CNN reported Wednesday.
The ad was part of a widespread effort by a Kremlin-backed group to sow discord in the United States and suppress voter turnout, according to Facebook officials and members of Congress investigating the matter.
In all, about 3,000 ads were purchased that focused on racial issues, the LGBT movement, gun rights, and illegal immigrants. Facebook has said a fourth of the ads were geographically targeted, but has not said what areas were specified.
CNN quoted sources as saying the Black Lives Matter ads were run between late 2015 and early 2016. The ad could be interpreted both as supporting Black Lives Matter and as threatening to some in the Ferguson and Baltimore areas, which had experienced racial tensions.
"This is consistent with the overall goal of creating discord inside the body politic here in the United States, and really across the West," Steve Hall, a former CIA officer and CNN National Security Analyst, told CNN. "It shows the level of sophistication of their targeting. They are able to sow discord in a very granular nature, target certain communities, and link them up with certain issues."
The ads were bought by a group known as the Internet Research Agency, which U.S. intelligence says is "a state-funded organization that blogs and tweets on behalf of the Kremlin."
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