Facebook also showed Russia-linked ads on other websites

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

• Less than 9,000 people saw Russian-linked ads through Facebook's Audience Network, which lets marketers deliver ads to other websites and apps outside of Facebook.
• 90 online publishers saw revenue from the Russia-affiliated ads that Facebook delivered.
• The revelation highlights how Russian actors used every part of Facebook's ad business to influence public opinion.

Russia-linked operatives looking to sway US politics purchased Facebook ads that were also shown outside of the social network, Business Insider has learned.

But unlike the 126 million Americans estimated to have seen Russia-backed ads on Facebook itself, the number of people who saw Facebook-delivered ads from Russia-linked actors on other sites was relatively small.

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Roughly 9,000 people saw Russian-affiliated ads purchased through Facebook's Audience Network tool, which lets marketers deliver ads to other websites and apps outside of Facebook. The ads were affiliated with the Internet Research Agency, a so-called Russian "troll farm" that Facebook recently said was behind roughly 80,000 posts shared on its own platform before and after the election.

Approximately 90 online publishers saw revenue from the Russia-backed ads that Facebook delivered through its Audience Network since the beginning of 2016, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source added that Facebook notified affected publishers on Tuesday, just minutes before the company's top lawyer was scheduled to testify at a hearing on Capitol Hill about Russia's meddling with social networks.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the previously unreported reach of Russia-backed activity on the company's ad platform in a statement shared with Business Insider on Tuesday.

"Less than 9,000 people saw one of the ads linked to the Internet Research Agency through the Audience Network," the spokesperson said. "Most impacted publishers saw less than 10 impressions and the revenue average delivered per publisher was less than $0.10."

While 9,000 people is a small number compared to the 126 million people who saw Russian posts on Facebook itself, the revelation highlights how Russian actors used every part of Facebook's ad business to influence public opinion.

Facebook announced last week that advertisers running federal election-related ads in the US would be required to verify their identity as well as run disclosures on each ad. The company also said that it would allow people to see the ads a Facebook business page is currently running.

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