{"id":20333,"date":"2025-01-17T16:10:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20333"},"modified":"2025-01-17T17:23:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:23:54","slug":"russian-disinformation-campaigns-eluded-metas-efforts-to-block-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20333","title":{"rendered":"Russian Disinformation Campaigns Eluded Meta\u2019s Efforts to Block Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">A new report details how a covert influence operation linked to the Kremlin continued to place ads on Facebook despite U.S. and E.U. prohibitions on doing business with the organization.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A Russian organization linked to the Kremlin\u2019s covert influence campaigns posted more than 8,000 political advertisements on Facebook despite European and American restrictions barring companies from doing business with the organization, according to three organizations that track disinformation online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Russian group, the Social Design Agency, evaded lax enforcement by Facebook to place an estimated $338,000 worth of ads aimed at European users over a period of 15 months ended in October, even though the platform itself highlighted the threat, the three organizations said in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/checkfirst.network\/influence-by-design-how-meta-accepted-russian-propaganda-payments-despite-sanctions\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a report<\/a> released on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Social Design Agency has faced punitive sanctions in the European Union since 2023 and in the United States since last April for spreading propaganda and disinformation to unsuspecting users on social media. The ad campaigns on Facebook raise \u201ccritical questions about the platform\u2019s compliance\u201d with American and European laws, the report said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The report follows the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/01\/07\/business\/meta-fact-checking\" title>announcement<\/a> by Facebook\u2019s parent company, Meta, that it was changing its rules for content it allows on its social media platforms, including eliminating fact checks that flagged or removed posts. The changes will almost certainly intensify Meta\u2019s confrontation with regulators in Europe over how it handles disinformation and other corrosive content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The changes include lifting automatic restrictions on content regarding race and gender that could run afoul of the European Union\u2019s Digital Services Act, which requires social media platforms to restrict illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. The 27-nation bloc announced last year that it had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/30\/business\/meta-european-union-disinformation-investigation.html\" title>launched an investigation<\/a> into Meta over poor oversight of deceptive advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Meta\u2019s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the content policies last week, he appeared to allude to the company\u2019s regulatory fight with the European Union, appealing to President-elect Donald J. Trump to \u201cpush back against foreign governments\u201d that he said were seeking to restrict free speech.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fbusiness%2Frussia-disinformation-meta.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fbusiness%2Frussia-disinformation-meta.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fbusiness%2Frussia-disinformation-meta.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fbusiness%2Frussia-disinformation-meta.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report details how a covert influence operation linked to the Kremlin continued to place ads on Facebook despite U.S. and E.U. prohibitions on doing business with the organization.A Russian organization linked to the Kremlin\u2019s covert influence campaigns posted more than 8,000 political advertisements on Facebook despite European and American restrictions barring companies from doing business with the organization, according to three organizations that track disinformation online.The Russian group, the Social Design Agency, evaded lax enforcement by Facebook to place an estimated $338,000 worth of ads aimed at European users over a period of 15 months ended in October, even though the platform itself highlighted the threat, the three organizations said in a report released on Friday.The Social Design Agency has faced punitive sanctions in the European Union since 2023 and in the United States since last April for spreading propaganda and disinformation to unsuspecting users on social media. The ad campaigns on Facebook raise \u201ccritical questions about the platform\u2019s compliance\u201d with American and European laws, the report said.The report follows the announcement by Facebook\u2019s parent company, Meta, that it was changing its rules for content it allows on its social media platforms, including eliminating fact checks that flagged or removed posts. The changes will almost certainly intensify Meta\u2019s confrontation with regulators in Europe over how it handles disinformation and other corrosive content.The changes include lifting automatic restrictions on content regarding race and gender that could run afoul of the European Union\u2019s Digital Services Act, which requires social media platforms to restrict illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. The 27-nation bloc announced last year that it had launched an investigation into Meta over poor oversight of deceptive advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.When Meta\u2019s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the content policies last week, he appeared to allude to the company\u2019s regulatory fight with the European Union, appealing to President-elect Donald J. Trump to \u201cpush back against foreign governments\u201d that he said were seeking to restrict free speech.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20335,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20336,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20333\/revisions\/20336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}