Google reportedly discovers Russian political ad buys similar to those uncovered by Facebook, Twitter

Russian ads may extend far beyond Twitter and Facebook.
(Image credit: PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)

An internal investigation at Google has uncovered that the tech giant is not unique from Facebook and Twitter in being used as a tool by Russian agents to influence the 2016 election, The Washington Post reports. People familiar with Google's probe, which has not yet been made public by the company, revealed that Russia-linked accounts attempted to spread disinformation through ads on YouTube, Google search, Gmail, and the ad subsidiary DoubleClick.

"The discovery by Google is ... significant because the ads do not appear to be from the same Kremlin-affiliated troll farm that bought ads on Facebook — a sign that the Russian effort to spread disinformation online may be a much broader problem than Silicon Valley companies have unearthed so far," the Post writes.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.