Facebook ran ads in Moldova for oligarch sanctioned by US – Manistee News Advocate

DAVID KLEPPER and STEPHEN McGRATH, Associated PressFeb. 17, 2023Updated: Feb. 17, 2023 1:01 a.m. FILE – Meta’s logo can be seen on a sign at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Nov. 9, 2022. Meta, which is Facebook’s parent company, allowed a Moldovan oligarch with ties to the Kremlin to run ads on its platform urging protests against that country’s government — even though he and his political party are subject to U.S. sanctions.Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP WASHINGTON (AP) — Facebook allowed an exiled Moldovan oligarch with ties to the Kremlin to run ads calling for protests and uprisings against the pro-Western government, even though he and his political party were on U.S. sanctions lists. The ads featuring politician and convicted fraudster Ilan Shor were ultimately removed by Facebook but not before they were seen millions of times in Moldova, a small nation of about 2.6 million sandwiched between Romania and war-torn Ukraine. Seeking to exploit anger over inflation and rising fuel prices, the paid posts from Shor’s political party targeted the government of pro-Western President Maia Sandu, who earlier this week detailed what she said was a Russian plot to topple her government using external saboteurs. “Destabilization attempts are a reality
Read More