The Kremlin created an inauthentic Facebook group called United Muslims of America, which was used to reach American Muslims and their allies, according to a new report.
The Russian government promoted memes, which are funny photos or jokes with an often-repeated formula, including some that asserted Hillary Clinton confessed the U.S. “created, funded and armed” al Qaeda and the Islamic State, called Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the true founder of ISIS, and claimed that Osama bin Laden was a “CIA agent,” according to the Daily Beast.
The account purchased Facebook ads and promoted political rallies to Muslim audiences. Additionally, it used a Twitter account called “muslims_in_usa” and an Instagram account called “muslim_voice” to promote the memes posted by the Facebook group.
Both the Twitter and the Instagram accounts have been suspended.
Unlike many of the inauthentic accounts connected to the Kremlin, the United Muslims of America group was impersonating an actual organization which is based out of California. The current president said the group is currently “not functional” and is currently rebuilding.
The Russian trolls also used other accounts to promote anti-Islamic messages to far-right audiences on Facebook, including promoting a rally in Idaho in August 2016 that demanded, “We must stop taking Muslim refugees!”
It was revealed Tuesday that descriptions for ads bought by a Russian “troll farm” and shared on Facebook were politically charged and intended to sow political discord during the 2016 presidential election. However, they were not necessarily intended to favor one candidate or issue.
“Russia knows no ends and no limits to which groups they would masquerade as to carry out their objectives,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told the Daily Beast. Facebook announced earlier in September $100,000 was purchased for ads from June 2015 to May 2017 by a Russian group called the Internet Research Agency, a group that has promoted pro-Russia propaganda. The money was associated with approximately 3,000 ads and 470 “inauthentic accounts and pages.”
In response, Facebook suspended all 470 accounts associated with the ads because they did not adhere to authenticity requirements. The descriptions of the ads have been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.
Facebook is also expected to turn over the same content to the Senate and House intelligence committees this week.
