Anyone who was paying attention figured it out — but unfortunately, a lot of people just weren’t paying attention:
Russian-funded Facebook ads purchased during the 2016 presidential election promoted Green Party candidate Jill Stein as well as then-candidate Donald Trump and Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders, said Politico on Wednesday.
“Other advertisements paid for by shadowy Russian buyers criticized Hillary Clinton and promoted Donald Trump. Some backed Bernie Sanders and his platform even after his presidential campaign had ended, according to a person with knowledge of the ads,” wrote Politico’s Josh Dawsey.
Dawsey reported that the Stein ad he saw was placed late in the campaign and played upon some liberals’ belief that Clinton is too hawkish and would lead the U.S. into war with Iran.
“Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein,” said the ad. “Trust me. It’s not a wasted vote. … The only way to take our country back is to stop voting for the corporations and banks that own us. #GrowaSpineVoteJillStein.”
Stein was one of the guests — along with disgraced former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn — at a 2015 Russia Today gala in Moscow, which has caused some like CNN’s Michael Smerconish to question whether she worked with Russia to sway the election away from Clinton.
However, there is currently no evidence that Stein, Sanders or Trump knew about the ads or played any role in producing and promoting them.
It would be nice to know about what the impact of those ads were on the states where Stein’s total was larger than Fergus’ margin of victory.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/09/the-russian-influence-story-falls-apart-a-new-fairy-tale-is-needed.html#more
Haven’t read him in years. Thanks for reminding me why.
Funny (not really), but during the campaign I used to wonder how in the hell Stein was registering such great numbers. And why the fuck was she sitting there at the dinner table with Putin? Just saying.