Several of the Russian-linked Facebook advertisements turned over to congressional investigators this week were targeted to people living in Michigan and Wisconsin, states that were critical to President Donald Trump’s win in 2016, CNN reported late Tuesday.
The advertisements featured polarizing messages, like anti-Muslim attacks. The sources that spoke with CNN said that a large number of the ads appeared in parts of the country that weren’t critical to the election, but some, like the ones in Michigan and Wisconsin, were geared at influencing public opinion.
Trump won both states by less than 1 percent and both were crucial to his Electoral College win.
Facebook has previously said that the 3,000 ads bought by a Russian affiliated troll farm were targeted to specific parts of the country geographically and that at least 10 million Facebook users had likely seen the advertisements.
Special counsel Robert Mueller and congressional investigators are looking at the advertisements as part of its probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign played any part in it.
