Trove of ‘Russian troll’ posts exposed by Congress

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Trove of 'Russian troll' posts exposed by Congress

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Senators have opted to release some, but not all, examples of the posts thought to have been posted by Russia-backed trolls

Further instances of social media posts and ads thought to be part of Russian propaganda efforts to influence the last US presidential election and divide its society have been shared with the public.

The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the imagery following a hearing at which Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were criticised for having underestimated the problem.

The examples are a fraction of the number of posts that have been flagged as being suspicious by the tech companies themselves.

Other cases had been displayed on Capitol Hill earlier in the week.

In addition, the senators released data about how much had been spent promoting the material and how many people had been shown it. They have also provided a long list of Russia-linked Twitter accounts that have now been suspended.

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Image copyright US Congress

Image caption A total of 14,706 roubles ($253; £191) was spent to promote this advert to Facebook users in New York – it was shown to 15,255 people

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad was targeted at people who had shown interest in Christianity, the Bible and/or Andrew Breitbart, the founder of the Breitbart news site

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This post attracted 13,182 likes and 4,306 shares

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This post was liked 12,978 times and commented upon 1,032 times

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This image was uploaded in January 2017 and was shared 235,329 times

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This post was shared 55,812 times and attracted 1,477 comments

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption A total of 53,425 roubles ($818; £694) was spent promoting this page – it was shown to 201,428 users and was clicked on 12,127 times

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This post was uploaded in October 2016 and was shared 29,328 times

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad had 48,306 roubles ($830; £628) spent on it and was targeted at gun owners. It was shown to 301,608 people

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad was run in two separate campaigns and had 160,315 roubles ($2,752 £2,080) spent on its promotion, which generated 20,286 clicks

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This advert was targeted at US-based Facebook users that had shown an interest in being patriotic

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption Paid promotion of this advert caused it to be seen by 100,031 users

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This advert was promoted to US-based users that had shown interest in the Muslim scholars Zaid Shakir and Abu Eesa Niamatullah

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption A total of 3,981 roubles ($68; £52) was spent to promote this ad

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption A total of 14,607 roubles ($251; £190)was spent promoting this petition, which resulted in 6,276 clicks

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad was targeted at friends of people who had already liked the same account

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This promotion of an anti-bigotry rally was shown to 4,798 people and was clicked 240 times

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption Only six roubles (10 cents; 8p) was spent advertising this post that was shown to 11 people as a result

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This Instagram advert – whose image was redacted – invited Americans to share pictures and videos of their children supporting President Trump in April 2016

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption A total of 17,307 roubles ($297; £225) was spent promoting this ad to Instagram users, and was shown to 108,433 users

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This post was promoted to Texas-based users who had shown an interest in independence and/or patriotism

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This video was promoted to African Americans but instructed to exclude Hispanics and Asian Americans

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This post was promoted to Tea Party supporters and gun owners among others, and was clicked on 85 times

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption A total of 500 roubles ($8.58; £6.50) was spent promoting this ad to Bernie Sanders supporters, which led it to be shown to 1,938 users

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad, which described Hillary Clinton as Hitlery, was shown to 16,168 users

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad – which referred to Clinton as Killary – was targeted at military veterans of the Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam wars

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This anti-Trump ad ran between September and December 2016, but only had 113 roubles ($1.94; £1.47) spent on its promotion

Image copyright US Congress

Image caption This ad was targeted at users who had shown an interest in the black rights activists Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

Source – bbc.com

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