Lawmakers release Russia-linked Facebook ads

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Wednesday released a trove of Facebook ads linked to a Russian effort to disrupt the American political process and whip up tensions around divisive social issues.

The ads, dozens of which were disclosed for the first Wednesday, were released as representatives of leading social media companies faced criticism on Capitol Hill about why they hadn’t done more to combat Russian interference on their sites and prevent foreign agents from meddling in last year’s election.

Some of the ads took opposing sides of the same issue. One touts an event to “Support Hillary. Save American Muslims!” with a picture of a woman in a hijab beside Hillary Clinton. Another for a group called “Stop A.I.” urged viewers to “like and share if you want burqa banned in America,” because the full-body covering could be hiding a terrorist.

U.S. intelligence agencies have said the Russian government exploited social media as part of a sprawling, and surreptitious, campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election in favour of Republican candidate Donald Trump. The FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating potential ties between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign to tip the election, and prosecutors this week announced the first charges in that probe.