Russians took a page from corporate America by using Facebook tool to ID and influence voters

[applegrove]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/russians-took-a-page-from-corporate-america-by-using-facebook-tool-to-id-and-influence-voters/2017/10/02/681e40d8-a7c5-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-low_facebookads-820pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.3c55e7738183

By Elizabeth Dwoskin, Craig Timberg and Adam Entous at the Washington Post

"SNIP.....


SAN FRANCISCO — Russian operatives set up an array of misleading Web sites and social media pages to identify American voters susceptible to propaganda, then used a powerful Facebook tool to repeatedly send them messages designed to influence their political behavior, say people familiar with the investigation into foreign meddling in the U.S. election.

The tactic resembles what American businesses and political campaigns have been doing in recent years to deliver messages to potentially interested people online. The Russians exploited this system by creating English-language sites and Facebook pages that closely mimicked those created by U.S. political activists.

The Web sites and Facebook pages displayed ads or other messages focused on such hot-button issues as illegal immigration, African American political activism and the rising prominence of Muslims in the United States. The Russian operatives then used a Facebook “retargeting” tool, called Custom Audiences, to send specific ads and messages to voters who had visited those sites, say people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details from an ongoing investigation.

People caught up in this web of tracking and disinformation would have had no indication that they had been singled out or that the ads came from Russians.


.....SNIP"

[SunSeeker]

1. K & R for exposure.

[Hoyt]

2. No doubt Ruskies ran those ads. I just don't see any ads influencing people to vote for Trump.

Anyone that stupid was not inclined to vote for Clinton, they were already white wingers in Trumps pocket.

[applegrove]

3. You could say anyone who was independent and not voting for Hillary

already were in Trump's pockets already and that is not true.

[Hoyt]

5. Sorry, I just don't believe people would switch to a racist dolt based upon ads about a sex ring

Clinton supposedly owned in the back of a Pizza shop, or even ad on emails or her health.

Besides, we need to be ready to handle that kind of swift-boating. It's not like it's something new or something that is done only by the Ruskies or other governments, including our own.

[rockfordfile]

4. No they clearly had help