Russian Facebook ads called Trump ‘only viable option’ in 2016 election: report

Facebook ads that were purchased by Russian-tied groups referred to then-Republican candidate Donald Trump as the “only viable option” during the 2016 presidential campaign, ABC News reported Wednesday.

The ads were designed to look as if they were being shared by a grassroots group in the United States called Secured Borders, but congressional investigators told ABC it was actually a Russian attempt to influence the 2016 election.

{mosads}The ads from Secured Borders reportedly went after undocumented immigrants and targeted Facebook users from swing states.

One ad that ran in October 2016 featured an image of actor Jack Nicholson.

“How dare they accuse Donald Trump of racism and sexism just because he’s concerned about the well-being of Americans??” the caption read. “If wanting to remove criminal alien scum from our streets is racist and deplorable, then by all means count me in that basket!”

Another ad featured the cartoon character Dora the Explorer, and another that ran after the election featured Trump as Santa Claus.

These are the latest ads to have been revealed to have been purchased by Russia-tied groups during the 2016 campaign.

Facebook revealed earlier this month that about 3,000 political ads had been purchased by a Russian troll farm during the campaign.

Lawmakers are now inviting Facebook and other tech companies to testify about the role their platforms played in the election.