Influence by Design: How Meta Accepted Russian Propaganda Payments Despite Sanctions
With Reset.tech and AI Forensics, revealed Meta ran 8,000+ pro-Russian ads tied to the sanctioned Social Design Agency, earning ~$338,000 between Aug 2023-Oct 2024 despite sanctions.
Executive summary
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CheckFirst, with Reset.tech and AI Forensics, conducted further analysis of a leaked internal document set from the Social Design Agency (SDA) — a Kremlin-linked Russian firm behind the 'Doppelgänger' operation of fake news sites impersonating legitimate media brands — originally obtained by Delfi Estonia and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The analysis found that Meta ran more than 8,000 political ads tied to SDA and aligned with Russian interests, targeting France, Germany, Poland, and Italy, and earned approximately $338,000 from these ads between August 2023 and October 2024 — despite SDA being under international sanctions. The findings build on an earlier 2024 case in which similar propaganda ads reached over three million accounts, pointing to a persistent, repeated failure by Meta to block sanctioned, Kremlin-linked advertisers.
The report concludes that Meta's compliance systems have significant gaps and argues that platforms must both strengthen legal compliance and ensure their advertising systems cannot be weaponized against democratic processes, calling for stronger oversight and cross-sector cooperation.
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