Russian Hackers Purchased Black Lives Matter Facebook Ad, Targeted Baltimore And Ferguson
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP)-- Russian hackers reportedly purchased at least one Facebook ad referencing "Black Lives Matter" during last year's presidential election and it was targeted to reach people in Baltimore.
CNN reports the hackers wanted the ad to appear to people in Baltimore as well as Ferguson, Missouri.
The report says it was one of 3,000 ads purchased by Russian hackers to "sow political chaos" in the U.S. before the election.
Bowing to pressure from lawmakers and the public, Facebook said it will provide the contents of 3,000 ads bought by a Russian agency to congressional investigators, while also pledging to make political advertising on its platform more "transparent."
"I don't want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook video and wrote in an accompanying post . "That's not what we stand for."
The moves Thursday come amid growing pressure on the social network from members of Congress, who pushed Facebook to release the ads after the company disclosed their existence in early September. Facebook has already handed over the ads to the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
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