TRANSPARENCY

Facebook to Turn Over Russian Ads to Congress

More than 3,000 ads on social-media platform seen as part of 2016 election meddling.

Facebook will turn over Russian advertisements that were purchased on the social-media platform to congressional investigators. “We believe it is vitally important that government authorities have the information they need to deliver to the public a full assessment of what happened in the 2016 election,” Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said in a statement. Russians bought ads on Facebook as part of its efforts to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election. The Daily Beast first reported Russian efforts to mobilize Trump voters on Facebook, including the use of its events tool to organize protests. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, applauded Facebook’s decision. “Important & absolutely necessary first step. The American people deserve to know the truth about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election,” Warner wrote on Twitter.