How Russia Used Facebook Ads to Influence Our Thinking

Bitch_McConnell Published 05/11/2018 in wow

More than 3,500 political Facebook ads were identified as coming from Russian sources with intent to create division in the U.S. Here's the logic behind the method.

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Among the ads released by lawmakers, there’s a wide variety of content, tone and visual style. While some mimic Internet memes intended for easy consumption and sharing, others take the form of more-traditional campaign-style ads or promoted events.
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Using Facebook’s marketing tools, some of the ads targeted people likely to sympathize with or relate to an issue.
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Not all of the ads were images. Any type of post can be promoted on Facebook, including videos and simple text with links to outside content. This content may be from untrustworthy sources, entirely fake, or use real government websites to promote divisive content.
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Among the ads released by lawmakers, there’s a wide variety of content, tone and visual style. While some mimic Internet memes intended for easy consumption and sharing, others take the form of more-traditional campaign-style ads or promoted events.
5.
Using Facebook’s marketing tools, some of the ads targeted people likely to sympathize with or relate to an issue.
6.
Not all of the ads were images. Any type of post can be promoted on Facebook, including videos and simple text with links to outside content. This content may be from untrustworthy sources, entirely fake, or use real government websites to promote divisive content.
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