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The fake accounts were discovered during a company review of ad buys that was spurred by a broader investigation the company initiated into Russian meddling after the election, Stamos said.

In addition to the 470 accounts that appeared to be run from Russia, Stamos said its investigators also discovered an additional $50,000 in spending via 2,200 ads that “might have originated in Russia,” even including ads purchased by accounts with IP addresses in the U.S. but set to Russian in the language settings.

The dollar amount of ad spending identified by Facebook is an infinitesimal amount compared to the total amount of advertising spending during the election. According to ad tracker Borrell Associates, more than $1.4 billion was spent during the 2016 election cycle on digital advertising alone. That figure includes spending on national, state and local elections.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif, who also serves on the House Intelligence Committee, said Facebook’s disclosures help to “fill in with more colour some of the lines that exist,” but he would like to know more about the sophistication of the ads. He also wants to know if the content of the ads smacked of Russian propaganda.

“We know they had a cyber operation, we suspect U.S. persons may have been involved, now we know a U.S. company was used. So now we need to see if there are dots that connect,” he said.

The company has come under intense pressure since the election to curb the flow of false information. After the election, it updated its advertising policy to say it wouldn’t run spots that are “illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news.”

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Pearson reported from New York. Associated Press writers Chad Day and Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.