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Report: Russian Agents Bought Google Ads During US Election

The Web giant has discovered that Russian agents bought 'tens of thousands of dollars' worth of ads to 'spread disinformation' on its platforms.

Angela Moscaritolo
 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Google has discovered evidence that Russian operatives purchased ads on its services to meddle with the 2016 US presidential election, according to a new report.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources "familiar with the company's investigation," on Monday reported that the Web giant discovered that Russian agents bought "tens of thousands of dollars" worth of ads to "spread disinformation" on its platforms like YouTube, Gmail, and search.

In a Monday statement to PCMag, a Google spokesperson confirmed that the company is investigating the issue.

"We have a set of strict ads policies including limits on political ad targeting and prohibitions on targeting based on race and religion," the statement reads. "We are taking a deeper look to investigate attempts to abuse our systems, working with researchers and other companies, and will provide assistance to ongoing inquiries."

The ads in question appear to be from a different Russian outfit than the "Kremlin-affiliated troll farm that bought ads on Facebook," the report notes, suggesting that "the Russian effort to spread disinformation online may be a much broader problem than Silicon Valley companies have unearthed so far."

News of Google's discovery comes after Facebook last month revealed that 470 "inauthentic" accounts and Pages that "likely operated out of Russia" spent approximately $100,000 between June 2015 and May 2017 on 3,000 ads on its platform.

Those ads focused on "amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum — touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights," Facebook's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said in a statement. Facebook provided Congress with details about those ads.

Twitter, meanwhile, also "proactively" shared with Congress a "round-up of ads" that Russia's state-run TV network Russia Today (RT) targeted at US users in 2016. Twitter stated that RT — which the US intelligence community in January said played a role in Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election — spent $274,100 running ads in the US last year.

Twitter, Facebook, and Google parent company Alphabet have been invited to testify publicly before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Nov. 1.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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