We have seen Facebook already admit that as many as 10 million people saw Russian-linked ads on their platform. Google is now reportedly saying that they have found evidence that a Russian government campaign used the company’s platforms for their agenda, according a new report from The Washington Post.
Right now, Google’s investigation is in early stages, according to the Post. They stated that the company is in the process of separating troll ads from legitimate Russian-linked ads. Google has found tens of thousands of dollars spent on ads on its platforms including Gmail, YouTube, and search.
The Jolt Journal reached out for a comment from Google but did not immediately receive a reply. Google has previously stated that they had not found any evidence of ads linked to Russia on its platforms, but this changes everything.
Recently, Twitter and Facebook have been asked to testify in front of Congress regarding Russia involvement, and Google was advised to join as well. There is, however, an interesting note. The Post reports that the company responsible for buying the Facebook ads was not the same entity that bought the ads on Google’s platform. Google reportedly found the problem by searching through Twitter data.
