‘Some of the Ads Were Aimed at Reaching Voters Who May Be Susceptible to Anti-Muslim Messages’
Ads on Facebook that have been linked to Russia targeted at least two of the three states that Donald Trump won by razor-thin margins. According to awn exclusive report by CNN Tuesday night, some of the 3000 presidential campaign ads placed by Russia targeted voters in Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump won the Electoral College thanks to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
“Some of the Russian ads appeared highly sophisticated in their targeting of key demographic groups in areas of the states that turned out to be pivotal,” CNN reports. “The ads employed a series of divisive messages aimed at breaking through the clutter of campaign ads online, including promoting anti-Muslim messages, sources said.”
How critical were those states?
“The most important states,” The Washington Post reported last December, “were Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump won those states by 0.2, 0.7 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively — and by 10,704, 46,765 and 22,177 votes. Those three wins gave him 46 electoral votes; if Clinton had done one point better in each state, she’d have won the electoral vote, too.”
Trump picked up 46 electoral votes in those three states, and just 79,646 votes turned the election to Trump.
“Or put another way: But for 79,646 votes cast in those three states, she’d be the next president of the United States,” the Post reported.
Facebook earlier Tuesday announced that the 3000 ads from Russia were seen by about 10 million people. Some Facebook ad experts have previously said up to 70 million could have seen them.
What was the content in the ads?
“One person with direct knowledge of the matter said that some of the ads were aimed at reaching voters who may be susceptible to anti-Muslim messages, even suggesting that Muslims were a threat to the American way of life. Such messaging could presumably appeal to voters attracted to Trump’s hard-line stance against immigration and calls to ban Muslims from entering the United States,” CNN noted.
On October 31, just days before the election, The New Yorker ran an article asking, “Why Is Donald Trump in Michigan and Wisconsin?“
According to the polls, Donald Trump has been trailing Hillary Clinton badly in Michigan and Wisconsin for months. In Michigan, two surveys taken last week showed Clinton leading by seven percentage points. In a third poll, the margin was six points. It’s a similar story in Wisconsin, where the past three polls have shown Clinton ahead by four points, six points, and seven points.
Why, then, with just more than a week left before Election Day, is Trump campaigning in these two states?
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