Facebook indirectly sold the ad to irresponsible parties, in this case a number of Russian companies.
"Although most of the 3,000 ads do not refer to any particular candidate in the last US Presidential election, the ad focuses more on social issues, such as race issues, gun control, immigration to social orientation," said Alex Stamos, Facebook Chief Security Officer.
The ads have been passing on Facebook from June 2015 to May 2017. Around 470 accounts and fake pages of Russian companies associated with the ads have been forced to close.
Although Stamos did not provide more details about the identity of the alleged perpetrators, Facebook representatives directed congressional investigators by saying they came from troll farms supporting the Kremlin government.
Troll farm is an organization that employs employees or members in an effort to create conflicts and disruptions in online communities by uploading provocative comments.
As one of the most widely accessed information channels today, Facebook has been heavily criticized for spreading fake stories or hoaxes.
To respond to this the company took steps to detect hoaxes based on the number of uploads with a very high frequency.
"We are aware and must be vigilant in the face of those who try to abuse the Facebook platform," wrote Stamos.
