Some of the Facebook Russian ads found?

[ck4829]

Earlier this week, Facebook’s chief security officer, Alex Stamos, revealed that Russia had “likely” used 470 deceptive accounts to buy about $100,000 worth of political advertising before and after the 2016 presidential election. It was Facebook’s first public acknowledgment of the role it unwittingly played in the Kremlin’s “active measures” campaign to help elect Donald Trump. Based on the numbers, a Facebook marketing expert consulted by The Daily Beast says the Facebook run might have reached 70 million people.

The admission was a sharp turnaround for Facebook. As recently as July, the company was denying that it had evidence of Russian ad-buys, even though four months earlier the Russian news outlet RBC specifically identified one of the Facebook communities secretly run from Russia and promoted with paid Facebook ads.

That community, called SecuredBorders, positioned itself as the work of conservative Americans concerned about U.S. border security. In truth, according to RBC, it was operated by a notorious St. Petersburg troll factory called Internet Research Agency, which is financed by “a close Putin ally with ties to Russian intelligence,” according to a public report by U.S. intelligence agencies (PDF).

So far, Facebook is refusing to release any of the posts and ads from Russia’s campaign, opting instead for this terse description: “The ads and accounts appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum—touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/30-batsht-crazy-mostly-racist-facebook-memes-the-russians-used-to-corrupt-your-mind?yptr=yahoo

You can check the ads out at the link, they are really a window into some very disturbing thoughts. If you're into paranoia, xenophobia, and fascism; then these ads will appeal to you.

Seriously, this stuff is like if Elliot Rodger or the Unabomber decided to put their manifestos in picture book form or something.

[dalton99a]

1. That's how Putin used Facebook to spread his poison

[JonLP24]

2. Russia knows us well

A bunch of racists they know how to tap in to.

[defacto7]

3. They seem to know us better than we do.

[Wounded Bear]

11. That's because the US, as a society, tends to live in a deep state of denial...

There is some self-reflection out there, but most of us would rather watch re-runs of Honey Boo Boo than any real documentaries about our true heritage.

[defacto7]

19. That is a fact!

[BigmanPigman]

4. They look like they were designed by a 7 year old kid.

I guess if you have the maturity level of a 7 year old (like 45 does) than they would appeal to you, especially if you already have that mindset.

[iluvtennis]

7. And those ads would appeal to the Trump base. The ads are so disgusting, most would question...

...what they see, but not the base they were targeting.

[BigmanPigman]

8. Out of curiosity I googled and found the video that was displayed on DU

on election night when it crashed. I did not know about DU until this year but that video has about the same level of design as the Facebook ads. I just learned (I think) how to post videos today so I will give it a try.

I did it! Success!

[JonLP24]

9. They have Putin's face and a lot of Eastern European themes in that

I've been wondering about the hack more and more these days.

[SergeStorms]

12. That HAD to be made....

in Russia. That's so typical of Soviet era propaganda it's not even funny!

[True_Blue]

21. l remember that so well

DU was hacked w/ that video hrs before the first election results even came out. I was confident all day that Hillary would be our 1st woman POTUS, but when I saw that video and that DU had been hacked, I had feeling in my gut that the election was going to be stolen.

[davsand]

5. What's with all the yellow?

Those are some seriously disturbing memes--some I remember seeing, BTW. Not only are they all freakin' ugly, but the language is just off ever so slightly. You might not notice it as much if you were seeing them one at a time, but it is really evident when you read they in a group.


Laura

[ck4829]

18. I noticed all of that too

Yellow was used a lot in the old Soviet propaganda to convey an image of vulnerability or weakness.

https://books.google.com/books?id=aB8fAAAAMAAJ&q=psyops+%22the+color+yellow%22&dq=psyops+%22the+color+yellow%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0vdGB9JfWAhVE4CYKHQZDAyEQ6AEIJjAA

That's my take on it anyway.

[davsand]

20. Fascinating how color use in media is so rooted in the culture.

The language and color choices are very often rooted in the culture of the person producing the work. It can be a really subtle thing sometimes, pretty evident other times. In this case, just looking at the ads without knowing anything about their creation you are left with a feeling of "strange".

Presenting them as the work of "foreign" creators makes it a conscious awareness and the patterns come to the forefront. How did everybody miss this before? Makes me wish I had the ability to "replay" my timelines now.


Laura

[Midnight Writer]

6. Remember when Obama at SOTU said Citizen's United decision would allow foreign interests to buy our

elections?

Remember, that was when swing Supreme Court Justice Kennedy mouthed "That's a lie!".

[horvath]

10. Observer

That was Alito.

[Midnight Writer]

14. Thank you. It was Alito. And he mouthed the words "not true". I stand corrected.

Welcome to DU.

[jmbar2]

13. Russia needs to become the target of merciless ridicule and contempt

The most crooked nation on the planet. Russia makes the Nigerians look like boy scouts.

[a la izquierda]

15. Gack! I need a shower. Nt

[Not Ruth]

16. Those ADS are extreme right wing

I have never seen them, but it looks like they tried to create something that could get posted and go viral. Reaching 70 million targeted voters for $100k, I almost wonder if Facebook is not using this admission of guilt as a way of marketing their own products, that seems really cheap at 10k targeted customers verified as seeing your ad for a dollar. I remember during the primaries, Jeb Bush was spending hundreds of dollars per vote.

[JoeStuckInOH]

17. I've never seen any of those ads on FB (or anywhere else). nt