WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the House intelligence committee have released more than 3,500 Facebook ads that were created or promoted by a Russian internet agency. It's the fullest picture yet of Russia's attempt to sow racial and political division in the United States before and after the 2016 election.
Most of the ads are issue-based, pushing arguments for and against immigration, LGBT issues and gun rights, among other issues. Many of them attempt to stoke racial divisions by mentioning police brutality or attempting to disparage the Black Lives Matter movement.
Some promote President Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders, who ran against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. Few, if any, support Clinton.
The intelligence committee Democrats released a sampling of the ads purchased by Russia's Internet Research Agency last year.