• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Russian-bought Black Lives Matter ad on Facebook targeted Baltimore and Ferguson

D

Dalek

Member
Russian-bought Black Lives Matter ad on Facebook targeted Baltimore and Ferguson

At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, sources with knowledge of the ads told CNN.

Ferguson and Baltimore had gained widespread attention for the large and violent protests over police shootings of black men. The decision to target the ad in those two cities offers the first look at how accounts linked to the Russian government-affiliated troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency used geographically targeted advertising to sow political chaos in the United States, the sources said.

Facebook has previously said that roughly one-quarter of the 3,000 ads bought by the agency were geographically targeted, but it has not revealed any specific locations. Facebook has also not revealed which demographic groups and interest groups were targeted by the ads.

The Black Lives Matter ad appeared on Facebook at some point in late 2015 or early 2016, the sources said. The sources said it appears the ad was meant to appear both as supporting Black Lives Matter but also could be seen as portraying the group as threatening to some residents of Baltimore and Ferguson.
Click to expand...

New descriptions of the Russian-bought ads shared with CNN suggest that the apparent goal of the Russian buyers was to amplify political discord and fuel an atmosphere of incivility and chaos, though not necessarily to promote one candidate or cause over another. Facebook's review of Russian efforts on its platform focused on a timeframe from June 2015 to May 2017.

These ranged from posts promoting Black Lives Matter to posts promoting gun rights and the Second Amendment to posts warning about what they said was the threat undocumented immigrants posed to American democracy. Beyond the election, Russians have sought to raise questions about western democracies.

"This is consistent with the overall goal of creating discord inside the body politic here in the United States, and really across the West," Steve Hall, the former CIA officer and CNN National Security Analyst, said. "It shows they the level of sophistication of their targeting. They are able to sow discord in a very granular nature, target certain communities and link them up with certain issues."

The Internet Research Agency is a shadowy agency that U.S. military intelligence has described as "a state-funded organization that blogs and tweets on behalf of the Kremlin." A senior Kremlin spokesman said last week that Russia did not buy ads on Facebook to influence the election.

The ads were bought through Facebook's self-service ad model, which allows buyers to target their ads to users based on several criteria, including geographic location, demographic categories and specific interests.

Senator Mark Warner, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that the "million-dollar question" about the Facebook ads centered on how the Russians knew whom to target.

"Did they know this just by following political news in America? Did they geo-target both geography and by demographics in ways that at least at first blush appear pretty sophisticated? These are the kind of questions that we need to get answered and that's why we need them in a public hearing," Warner said.
Click to expand...

The targeting issue is also important because, if it appears that the targeting was particularly sophisticated, questions may be raised about how the Russians knew where to direct their ads. Further, information about the targeting could help investigators determine whether or not there was collusion between these ad buyers and the Trump campaign.
Republican Sen. Richard Burr, the chairman of the committee, said Tuesday that there's "no evidence yet" that Russians and Trump officials colluded on the Facebook ads, but said it's an area the committee continues to investigate.
Click to expand...
 
R

Random Human

They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
Why are all these Russia/Facebook stories suddenly everywhere?
 
A

Afrikan

Member
not that it relates directly...but saw this posted on another forum earlier today...

fVzvOMM.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I

Infinite Stars

Member
kirblar said:
They've been getting dripfed day by day by day for a week/week and a half now.

Feels like this is leading up to something big getting dropped.
Click to expand...
In before some Russian Ads were tailored to Hillary Voters, encouraging them to get out and Vote by linking to "official sites" that has false information on them such as where to vote, when it was open, what was required.
 
B

Beartruck

Member
kirblar said:
They've been getting dripfed day by day by day for a week/week and a half now.

Feels like this is leading up to something big getting dropped.
Click to expand...

I could see the feds threatening facebook "Stop buying these ads or you're all going to jail for foreign campaign finance violations."
 
M

Meadows

Banned
All according to the playbook:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics

As it says:

"Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."

For the record, I don't think BLM is a "racist" group and I do think that there are issues that need to be highlighted in America. This is just part of Russia's strategy though.
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
Amazing how fast this story is growing. They created chaos in the lead up to the Trump Election, Brexit, in the French and more recent German elections. They're in Catalonia. And you gotta know they're fucking around with North Korea.

Everywhere we see discord, we see Russia. The scariest part is not what happens when they succeed (though we're certainly seeing a preview), the scary part is when the world wakes up and unites against them.
 
A

AnotherDayAnotherDollar

Banned
Meadows said:
All according to the playbook:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics

As it says:

"Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."

For the record, I don't think BLM is a "racist" group and I do think that there are issues that need to be highlighted in America. This is just part of Russia's strategy though.
Click to expand...

Wasn't that the same play Yuri Bezmenov talked about when he defected from the Soviet Union in the 80s? At least for the US. I can see the book was written in the 90s, but the soviets probably had plans to destabilize the US since the start of the cold war.
 
A

Apharmd

Member
Slayven said:
It only works because so much of america is ready to hate black people
Click to expand...

This.

That said I'm quite certain that even if we know that we're being played against each other, the deplorable portion won't care. And y'all know what?

Neither do I.

Fuck 'em.
 
T

TomWaitsForNoMan

Banned
AnotherDayAnotherDollar said:
Wasn't that the same play Yuri Bezmenov talked about when he defected from the Soviet Union in the 80s? At least for the US. I can see the book was written in the 90s, but the soviets probably had plans to destabilize the US since the start of the cold war.
Click to expand...

And vice versa. The US won, propped up a drunk incompetent thief who almost destroyed the country, and Putin is the result.

Their chickens are coming home to roost.
 
old

old

Member
The Hill is saying Reddit is also in the investigations crosshairs for Russian interference.

TheDonald should be shitting themselves.
 
E

Elaugaufein

Member
Going by the comments on Jill Stein in the previous thread this clearly means that Black Lives Matter are Russian agents
/s
.
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Infinite Stars said:
In before some Russian Ads were tailored to Hillary Voters, encouraging them to get out and Vote by linking to "official sites" that has false information on them such as where to vote, when it was open, what was required.
Click to expand...
We already know that existed. Text Hillary to whatever to vote.
 
E

Earthstrike

Member
Bornstellar said:
Russia is playing both sides. Ultimate goal is to sow chaos and dissent.
Click to expand...

Nope, too much information available. Russians worked with Manafort on trumps team, met with kushner. Who from the democrats did they meet with?

Russia ran pro Stein, sanders and trump ads. Who is missing?

It couldn't be more clear not just in the modern era but over the course of the U.S.A's history, the south holds the US back, so russia knows the best way to decrease US influence is to put them in power.
 
J

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
Ardenyal said:
US controlled by proxy and you sit there with dick in your hand and take it.
Click to expand...

Yep. We've already lost. The world is just waiting for Americans to catch up to that fact.

JC Lately said:
So Facebook is literally ruining the country.

Called it.
Click to expand...

YES! Shutting down Facebook abruptly and completely should be our first step in trying to clean up this mess.

Throw Zuckerberg into a cannon and fire him into the fucking sun if he's got a problem with it.
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Hard not to be impressed how well these Russians know American culture. It's almost like someone from America was helping them...
 
E

Elaugaufein

Member
Oersted said:
I wouldn't say idiots. At this point you really have to be dedicated to pay attention to never fall for anything. There is simply too many news fighting for our attention basically every minute.
Click to expand...

The news doesn't even have to fake for these operations, it can be just as effective to draw attention to something that's true (maybe without context) at the right time
 
N

Nekofrog

Banned
old said:
The Hill is saying Reddit is also in the investigations crosshairs for Russian interference.

TheDonald should be shitting themselves.
Click to expand...

I half expect it to close up shop in the middle of the night and the moderators/admins try to slip away into anonyminity. It wouldn't work but I expect them to try.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Elaugaufein said:
Going by the comments on Jill Stein in the previous thread this clearly means that Black Lives Matter are Russian agents
/s
.
Click to expand...

Targeting exaggerated portrayals of black violence to nearby whites and viral stories about all candidates at Hillary's expense are not conflicting agendas.

Jill Stein's complicity in whatever shenanigans went on last year still remain to be proven, but her proximity to some of the main players isn't going to be forgotten any time soon, and we should all hope it's vetted thoroughly.
 
C

Chuck Norris

Banned
The targeting issue is also important because, if it appears that the targeting was particularly sophisticated, questions may be raised about how the Russians knew where to direct their ads. Further, information about the targeting could help investigators determine whether or not there was collusion between these ad buyers and the Trump campaign.
Republican Sen. Richard Burr, the chairman of the committee, said Tuesday that there's "no evidence yet" that Russians and Trump officials colluded on the Facebook ads, but said it's an area the committee continues to investigate.
Click to expand...

This is a massive stretch and is not sophisticated at all. Russians don't need Trump to find dense African American areas

Shit, you can literally select "African Americans" as a demographic to target on Facebook with one click

It would take about five minutes of research to find good geolocations to target but that would really just be an exercise in cost efficiency or really making the ad talk about Baltimore

Now if they are creating significant amounts of content, communities, groups, events, rallies etc using Facebook that is something but actually targeting them is laughably easy
 
C

Chuck Norris

Banned
Hollywood Duo said:
Hard not to be impressed how well these Russians know American culture. It's almost like someone from America was helping them...
Click to expand...
No it's not. The rest of the word is over exposed to American culture. I'd say a lot of people know more American culture than their own

I live in Australia for example. I'd bet my left foot the average Aussie could name more American Presidents than Australian Prine Ministers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision, Interested in Buying Tik-Tok
2 3
143
10K
Gameplay Gods Bless replied
NYTIMES - Report Points to Microwave ‘Attack’ as Likely Source of Mystery Illnesses That Hit Diplomats and Spies
News
7
2K
DisguiseArrsick replied
CNN: Russian-linked Facebook ads targeted Michigan and Wisconsin
48
7K
Smellycat replied
[Bustle] Please Respect Mia Khalifa’s Rebrand
6 7 8 9 10
499
71K
Maiden Voyage replied
Russian operatives used Facebook to exploit divisions over black activism and muslims
2 3
116
16K
Not replied
Top Bottom