Aiming to divide Americans, Russia bought Facebook ads targeting fans of Sean Hannity, Black Lives Matter

A Kremlin-backed organization purchased ads on Facebook and Instagram during the 2016 presidential campaign to push contentious messages to a wide range of voters, including fans of Fox News host Sean Hannity and Black Lives Matter supporters, according to NBC News.

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released thousands of the ads, which were orchestrated by the Internet Research Agency, the Russia-backed organization.

The ads touched on divisive political issues, including police brutality, immigration, and LGBTQ issues. Facebook statistics show nearly four million users clicked on these ads as they were spread across social media from 2015 to 2017. The ads that targeted the pages for fans of Hannity often displayed anti-immigrant messages.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House committee, said Thursday he hoped releasing the ads would help Americans become more vigilant against the influence of foreign adversaries and more skeptical of the information they encounter on the internet.