At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, sources with knowledge of the ads told CNN. The Black Lives Matter ad appeared on Facebook at some point in late 2015 or early 2016, the sources said. The sources said it appears the ad was meant to appear both as supporting Black Lives Matter but also could be seen as portraying the group as threatening to some residents of Baltimore and Ferguson. These ranged from posts promoting Black Lives Matter to posts promoting gun rights and the Second Amendment to posts warning about what they said was the threat undocumented immigrants posed to American democracy. Senator Mark Warner, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that the "million-dollar question" about the Facebook ads centered on how the Russians knew whom to target? The Black Lives Matter ad targeted toward Baltimore and Ferguson, which sources discussed with CNN on the condition of anonymity, was one of a small handful of ads presented to congress earlier this month. Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said this week that the aim of the ad-buyers "was to sow chaos."
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