Suspected Russian campaign discovered on Facebook

According to the BBC, the social media platform said some 3,000 advertisements about immigration, race, equal rights and other topics directed users towards some 470 accounts – which spread false information and breached Facebook’s terms and conditions – over two years.

“The ads and accounts appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum,” Facebook said in a blog post published on Wednesday, according to the BBC.

Facebook said it believed, but could not independently confirm, that the accounts, which have been shut down, could have been set up by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian-based group promoting pro-Kremlin content on social media, the BBC reported.

The social media platform said it came across the suspicious ads as it investigated how Russia could have used Facebook to interfere in US presidential elections, the BBC said. (vb/pk)