Facebook links thousands of political ads to Russian troll farm

Facebook Inc. said Wednesday that it traced ad sales totaling $100,000 from Russian accounts, some of which are likely linked to a troll farm in St. Petersburg called the Internet Research Agency. The roughly 3,000 ads from 470 accounts ran between June of 2015 and May of 2017 and focused on political issues such as gun rights, immigration, LGBTQ issues and racial discrimination. According to the Washington Post, some of the ads specifically name checked Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. The company's blog also said it conducted a broad search for ads that found an additional $50,000 tied to 2,200 ads that "might have originated in Russia" and had "very weak signals of a connection ... not associated with any organized effort." During and after the 2016, election Facebook was subject to criticism that it spread false information, though chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said that only a "very small amount" is fake or hoaxes. During the regular session Wednesday, the company's shares edged up nearly 1% to $172.09, nearly touching its record closing high of $172.45 set July 28. The stock has gained 49.6% this year, with the S&P 500 index gaining 10.1%.

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