According to reports, some Russian-backed Pages sent users Messenger invitations and posted within the service nearly every day. Facebook reported last month that Russian-linked accounts purchased $150,000 in political ads from June 2015 to May 2017 in a push to circulate divisive content. Facebook removed the accounts last month on the basis that they were fake. According to reports, the accounts gained followers by getting users to click on controversial ads. Once users followed the fake Pages, their feeds could be filled with additional unpaid political content such as posts, videos and photos.
Last month, Twitter said it found 201 accounts on its site linked to the fraudulent accounts Facebook had previously identified. Twitter also reported that the Russian-backed news site RT, which a U.S. intelligence report said attempted to meddle in the U.S. election, bought $274,100 of ads on Twitter last year. Under federal law, foreign governments and foreign nationals are prohibited from making contributions or spending money to influence a federal, state or local election in the U.S.
The issue of Russia's use of social platforms to interfere in the U.S. election has engulfed various tech giants, most notably Facebook, which has come under withering criticism for its failure to effectively police content and ads on its site. Senate leaders have endorsed earlier findings by the U.S. intelligence community that the Russian president Vladimir Putin led a coordinated campaign to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election. Russian election meddling doesn’t appear to be limited to the U.S. Russian efforts may also have extended to France, the Netherlands and Germany, according to the Senate leaders. Russia may try to meddle in upcoming U.S. elections this year and next, the Senate committee said.
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