Trove of ‘Russian troll’ posts exposed by Congress
Image copyrightReutersImage 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.
Image copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage caption This post attracted 13,182 likes and 4,306 shares Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This post was liked 12,978 times and commented upon 1,032 times Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This image was uploaded in January 2017 and was shared 235,329 times Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This post was shared 55,812 times and attracted 1,477 comments Image copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage caption This post was uploaded in October 2016 and was shared 29,328 times Image copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage caption This advert was targeted at US-based Facebook users that had shown an interest in being patriotic Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption Paid promotion of this advert caused it to be seen by 100,031 users Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This advert was promoted to US-based users that had shown interest in the Muslim scholars Zaid Shakir and Abu Eesa Niamatullah Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption A total of 3,981 roubles ($68; £52) was spent to promote this ad Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption A total of 14,607 roubles ($251; £190)was spent promoting this petition, which resulted in 6,276 clicks Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This ad was targeted at friends of people who had already liked the same account Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This promotion of an anti-bigotry rally was shown to 4,798 people and was clicked 240 times Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption Only six roubles (10 cents; 8p) was spent advertising this post that was shown to 11 people as a result Image copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage caption This post was promoted to Texas-based users who had shown an interest in independence and/or patriotism Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This video was promoted to African Americans but instructed to exclude Hispanics and Asian Americans Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This post was promoted to Tea Party supporters and gun owners among others, and was clicked on 85 times Image copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage caption This ad, which described Hillary Clinton as Hitlery, was shown to 16,168 users Image copyrightUS CongressImage caption This ad – which referred to Clinton as Killary – was targeted at military veterans of the Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam wars Image copyrightUS CongressImage 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 copyrightUS CongressImage caption This ad was targeted at users who had shown an interest in the black rights activists Martin Luther King and Malcolm X
Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS