But the Russian troll farm that bought $100,000 worth of Facebook ads could have reached millions of American voters using the social media company's sophisticated software, which allows ad-buyers to target Facebook users based on anything from their age to their hobbies and political interests. Facebook told congressional investigators on Wednesday that it sold approximately $100,000 in ads to a so-called Russian troll farm that was looking to target American voters. The real value of Facebook ads is the way the platform allows buyers to target their audience based on thousands of characteristics. The number of users Facebook say match a certain criteria should be viewed with some skepticism. "When I saw they spent $100,000 on Facebook with 3,000 ad variants, I thought this was likely a testing budget for a larger ad campaign.

Source: CNN September 07, 2017 23:48 UTC