--- description: House Democrats on a key intelligence committee Wednesday released ads that Russian-backed groups distributed through social media. title: Here Are the Memes that Russian Operatives Shared to Influence 2016 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd77d533298440f2a/6988e425bc6cfc32893e3c25/gettyimages-868974964.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here Are the Memes that Russian Operatives Shared to Influence 2016 by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 1, 2017 8:21 PM CUT  A display showing a social media post stands during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on social media influence in the 2016 U.S. elections in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, A display showing a social media post stands during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on social media influence in the 2016 U.S. elections in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday,Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 1, 2017 8:21 PM CUT [Russian operatives](http://time.com/4783932/inside-russia-social-media-war-america/ "undefined") created a variety of low-budget graphics and videos as part of their attempts to influence Americans on [social media during the 2016 presidential election](http://time.com/4930532/facebook-russian-accounts-2016-election/ "undefined"). House Democrats on a key intelligence committee Wednesday released 14 ads from Russian-backed groups that were distributed through Facebook. Among other things, the ads show a Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders-themed coloring book for supporters and a father teaching his child to use a gun. They appear aimed at stoking tension among different groups of Americans, with ads appearing to build support for Sanders, while other ads sought to provoke concern about immigration and the media. Here’s a quick look at some of the ads that were distributed on online platforms as a part of the multilevel scheme.  Courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives.  Courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives.  Courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5006056/russia-election-2016-memes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5006056/russia-election-2016-memes/"},"headline":"Here Are the Memes that Russian Operatives Shared to Influence 2016","datePublished":"2017-11-01T20:21:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:24.031Z","description":"House Democrats on a key intelligence committee Wednesday released ads that Russian-backed groups distributed through social media.","url":"https://time.com/5006056/russia-election-2016-memes/","keywords":["Newsfeed","russia","politics","viral","White House","Election 2016","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd77d533298440f2a/6988e425bc6cfc32893e3c25/gettyimages-868974964.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd77d533298440f2a/6988e425bc6cfc32893e3c25/gettyimages-868974964.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Facebook, Twitter And Google Executives Testify Before The Senate Intelligence Committee","caption":"Facebook, Twitter And Google Executives Testify Before The Senate Intelligence Committee","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5006056/russia-election-2016-memes/","name":"Here Are the Memes that Russian Operatives Shared to Influence 2016"}}]}] ```