2017
September
07
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

September 07, 2017
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Yvonne Zipp
Features Editor

A Russian “troll farm” paid $100,000 to Facebook for about 3,000 political ads during the 2016 presidential campaign, representatives of the social media giant told members of Congress.

The testimony provides additional evidence of Russian tampering, as investigations by both houses of Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller examine Kremlin-backed meddling in the 2016 election.

Few of the ads named either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, according to a blog post published Wednesday evening by Facebook’s chief security officer. Instead, they focused on divisive issues such as immigration, gun rights, and civil rights for LGBT Americans. Facebook says it shut down more than 470 fake accounts and pages linked to the Russian company, the Internet Research Agency. It also refused to release any of the ads, citing data policy and federal law.

After Facebook’s disclosure, Sen. Mark Warner (D) of Virginia called for reform so that Americans can be aware of who paid for the ads they see on social media sites, similar to political advertising on TV. 

In 2015, The New York Times did a deep-dive profile of the Internet Research Agency. Among its earlier hoaxes: a fake explosion at a chemical plant in Louisiana and a made-up Ebola outbreak in Atlanta. 

For voters who want to be sure they’re getting information from credible reports, here’s how to read like a fact-checker

Now to our five stories for today. 


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

D.C. Decoder

Charlie Neibergall/AP
President Trump greets supporters before speaking about tax reform at the Andeavor Mandan Refinery in Mandan, N.D., Sept. 6.
Jacob Turcotte/Staff
Ashlee Rezin/Sun Times/AP
Surrounded by students and elected officials, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signs education funding reform bill SB 1947 at Ebinger Elementary School in Chicago on Aug. 31.
Craig Ruttle/AP
Supporters of unsigned NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick – a center of controversy since he kneeled during the national anthem a little more than a year ago – mingle with passersby in front of NFL headquarters in New York last month.

Culture crossings


The Monitor's View

Reuters
Supporters listen as FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, speaks during the launching of the new political party Revolutionary Alternative Common Force, in Bogota, Colombia Sept.1.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
A police officer in the self-proclaimed Donetsk (Ukraine) People's Republic patrols at a ceremony today marking the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the Donbas region from Nazi occupation during World War II. The war memorial pictured stands at Savur-Mohyla, a hill east of the city of Donetsk, in a region where Russian-backed rebels have carved out territory. The BBC reports that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is concerned that planned Russian military maneuvers could mask plans for a military incursion. Some analysts call that unlikely.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thanks so much for joining us. Our reporters are getting ready in Florida to cover the impact of hurricane Irma, but first on Friday, we'll have a look at how Houston's small businesses are starting to reopen after Harvey.

More issues

2017
September
07
Thursday
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