The FBI has ads on Facebook that appear to be an effort to recruit Russian spies in the Washington, D.C., area.
The ads, first reported by CNN, are viewable through a Facebook tool that discloses active advertising campaigns on the social media platform.
One ad features a stock photo of a woman at her graduation with her parents. “For your future, for the future of your family,” the ad says in Russian.
A second ad contains an image of a chess set with Russian text that says, “Isn’t it time for you to make your move?”
The final sponsored post is a drawing of a man walking over a bridge carrying a briefcase and an umbrella. The Russian text says, “Time to draw bridges.”
“The FBI obtains the best intelligence to combat threats through information provided by the public. If you have information that can help the FBI, visit us,” all three ads are captioned.
The sponsored posts lead to the website for the FBI’s D.C. field office. The page has information in Russian and English about its counterintelligence program.
The posts began appearing on Facebook on Sept. 11, according to the ad tracker.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
“We cannot comment except to note that Russia has a large number of intelligence officers based in Russian diplomatic facilities around the world. They are very active and pose a security risk to the US and our allies,” Alan E. Kohler Jr., special agent in charge of the D.C. field office’s counterintelligence division, told CNN.
“The FBI uses a variety of means to gather information, including the use of sources,” he said. “The FBI will use all legal means available to locate individuals with information that can help protect the United States from threats to our national security.”
“Russia has long been a counterintelligence threat to the US,” he added, and the FBI will “continue to adapt our investigative and outreach techniques to counter the threat.”
It remains unclear how many people the ads reached or whether anyone contacted the FBI in response to the outreach.
Russia weaponized social media against the U.S. during the 2016 election through a Kremlin-linked troll group that ran Facebook pages and bought Facebook ads to sow division, the Justice Department said. Individuals linked to the troll operation and Russia’s military intelligence were charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election.
