Facebook's VP Of Advertising Just Took The Media to The Woodshed over Russia Coverage
In the wake of 13 Russian individuals being indicted as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s U.S.-Russia investigation, certain influential voices are speaking out on what they believe is a scheme at division, no merely sabotage
Rob Goldman, vice president of advertisements at Facebook, took to Twitter to applaud Mueller for his efforts throughout the investigation in tracking down “Russian trolls” on social media.
However, Goldman’s comment on Friday also sought to clarify what he alleged was a misconception surrounding the Russian meddling itself and the effect it has on U.S. citizens.
“The main goal of the Russian propaganda and misinformation effort is to divide America by using our institutions, like free speech and social media, against us,” Goldman wrote in his Tweet. “It has stoked fear and hatred amongst (sic) Americans.”
“It is working incredibly well,” he added. “We are quite divided as a nation.”
Not one to shy away from Twitter, President Donald Trump was soon to praise Goldman’s efforts in a post he made about the indictment and “fake news.”
Goldman has been an avid voice when it comes to calling out not only Russian “trolls,” but the biases in both parties — fueled mainly by the media.
However, the indictment itself has continued to stir controversy throughout the nation, as reports state the Russian nationals sought to “interfere in the United State political system,” including the election.
And though Mueller’s report admitted that Russia’s social media campaign included acts such as “supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump,” but promoted anti-Trump resistance after he defeated Hillary Clinton.
Though not all were ads, thousands of posts had been shared through Facebook and other social media sites, where they allegedly reached millions of potential voters.
The 37-page indictment, which was released Friday, has brought intense scrutiny to social media platforms as it reveals the depth to which Russian “actors” were able to spread misinformation, no matter the party, to millions of users.
The document stated, however, that the Russian organization — the Internet Research Agency — had a goal to wage “information warfare” against the United States by taking on fake American personas.
Among his Tweets, Goldman himself confirmed that allegation, stating that the primary intent in infiltrating America’s social media networks was to merely sow chaos, not necessarily elect a particular official.
“Most of the coverage of Russian meddling involves their attempt to effect the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election,” Goldman said. “I have seen all of the Russian ads and I can say very definitively that swaying the election was *NOT* the main goal.”
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