Google uncovers Russia-backed ads on YouTube, Gmail

Google has discovered Russianoperatives spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads on itsYouTube, Gmail and Google Search products in an effort to meddlein the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a person briefed on thecompany's probe told Reuters on Monday.

The ads do not appear to be from the same Kremlin-affiliatedentity that bought ads on Facebook Inc, but may indicatea broader Russian online disinformation effort, according to thesource, who was not authorized to discuss details of theconfidential investigation by Alphabet Inc's Google.

Microsoft Corp said separately on Monday that itwas looking at whether Russians bought U.S. election ads on itsBing search engine or other Microsoft-owned products andplatforms. A spokeswoman for the company declined to commentfurther.

The revelation about Google is likely to fuel furtherscrutiny of the role that Silicon Valley technology giants mayhave unwittingly played during last year's election. U.S.intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow's goal was tohelp elect Donald Trump.

Google has uncovered less than $100,000 in ad spendingpotentially linked to Russian actors, the source said.

Both Twitter Inc and Facebook recently detected anddisclosed that suspected Russian operatives, working for acontent farm known as the Internet Research Agency in St.Petersburg, Russia, used their platforms to purchase ads andpost content that was politically divisive in a bid to influenceAmericans before and after the November 2016 presidentialelection.

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The Internet Research Agency employ hundreds of so-called"trolls" who post pro-Kremlin content, much of it fake ordiscredited, under the guise of phony social media accounts thatposed as American or European residents, according to lawmakersand researchers.

Facebook announced last month it had unearthed $100,000 inspending by the Internet Research Agency and, under pressurefrom lawmakers, has pledged to be more transparent about how itsads are purchased and targeted.

Google's review had been more robust than ones undertaken sofar by Facebook or Twitter, the source said.

Russia's ad purchases on Google were first reported by theWashington Post.

Google did not deny the story, and in a statement pointed toits existing ad policies that limit political ad targeting and
prohibit targeting based on race or religion.

"We are taking a deeper look to investigate attempts toabuse our systems, working with researchers and other companies,and will provide assistance to ongoing inquiries," a Googlespokesperson said on Monday.

'Destroy our democracy'

Google, which runs the world's largest online advertisingbusiness, had largely evaded public or congressional scrutinyuntil now.

On Sunday, the Daily Beast news website reported thatthe Kremlin recruited at least two black video bloggers to postclips on YouTube during the campaign. They posed as Black LivesMatter sympathizers who were sharply critical of Democraticpresidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Though the videos were only viewed hundreds of times, theydemonstrated for the first time that Russia allegedly deployedreal people, not just fake online accounts or bots, to furtherspread propaganda.

Congressional committees have launched multipleinvestigations into Russian interference, but concern aboutSilicon Valley's role has surged over the past month against thebackdrop of a cascade of revelations about how Russia appears tohave leveraged their platforms to spread propaganda.

A study published on Monday by researchers with the OxfordInternet Institute, which is affiliated with the Britishuniversity, found that current U.S. military personnel andveterans were targeted by disinformation campaigns on Twitter and Facebook over the past year by a nexus of pro-Kremlin,Russian-oriented sites, along with conspiracy theorists andEuropean right-wing ideologues.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have said Russiaintended to sow discord in the United States, spread propagandaand sway the election. Some Democrats plan to introducelegislation to require internet companies to disclose moreinformation about political ad purchases on their platforms.

"If Vladimir Putin is using Facebook or Google or Twitterto, in effect, destroy our democracy, the American people shouldknow about it," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal saidMonday on MSNBC.

Google officials have been invited to testify publicly aboutRussian attempts to use their platforms to influence theelection before both the House and Senate intelligencecommittees on Nov. 1 alongside Facebook and Twitter. WhileFacebook and Twitter have confirmed plans to attend, Google hasnot.

• Facebook says likely Russian influence operation spent $100K on ads promoting polarizing posts
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