Today, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Mark Warner (D-VA) gave a press conference updating the public about the investigation surrounding Russian election interference. The two lawmakers said that Russian interference not only happened in 2016 but is still happening, and it’s hindering countries other than the U.S. They would not give much more information, saying that the investigation is still ongoing. Nor would they give information about whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russians.
All eyes were on Facebook and other social networks. Recently Facebook admitted that foreign entities did use the platform to run political ads–and Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to take this issue more seriously. Now people want to know what, exactly, these Russian-run ads looked like. Unfortunately, the committee is not going to tell us. Senator Burr said flatly the committee “[does not] release document provided … It’s not a practice we’re going to get into.” He added that the social media companies could release the information to the public. Warner later on added that he thinks “it’s important for the public to see these ads.”
This won’t be the last we hear about social media platforms and this investigation. Burr and Warner announced an open hearing with Facebook, Google, and Twitter, in the near future. Hopefully, more information will be released then.
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