Facebook has found just 73p was spent by a Russian group on pro Brexit adverts during the EU referendum campaign - pouring cold water on claims the vote was swayed by foreign interference.

The social media firm said it found just three ads linked to the Russia-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) and they were viewed by just 200 people.

The revelations come after the Electoral Commission asked Facebook and Twitter for information on any Russian attempts to interfere with the Brexit vote.

It follows an investigation in the US earlier this year which ruled hundreds of Russia-linked Facebook accounts had attempted to influence the US presidential election.

The findings cast doubt over assertions by pro Remain MPs that Moscow-based propaganda groups were trying to sway the vote by posting ads online.

Facebook said it found just three ads linked to the Russia-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) and they were viewed by just 200 people (file photo of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg)

In a letter to the Commission Facebook said: 'We strongly support the Commission's efforts to regulate and enforce political campaign finance rules in the United Kingdom, and we take the Commission's request very seriously.

'Further to your request, we have examined whether any of the identified Internet Research Agency pages or account profiles funded advertisements to audiences in the United Kingdom during the regulated period for the EU referendum.

'We have determined that these accounts associated with the IRA spent a small amount of money (97 cents, or 73p) on advertisements that delivered to UK audiences during that time.

'This amount resulted in three advertisements (each of which were also targeted to US audiences and concerned immigration, not the EU referendum) delivering approximately 200 impressions to UK viewers over four days in May 2016.'

A report in January by the US national director of intelligence ruled that Russia had meddled in the 2016 US election.

And Facebook found approximately 470 accounts linked to the agency had spent around 100,000 dollars (£75,000) on more than 3,000 adverts.

These adverts were run between June 2015 and May 2017.

Theresa May has previously accused Russia of spreading fake news and misinformation online as part of a campaign to 'sow discord in the West'.

However Damian Collins, MP and chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, hit out at Facebook's response accusing the social media giant of not properly investigating the claims of Russian meddling.

He said: 'Facebook responded only with regards to funded advertisements to audiences in the UK from the 470 accounts and pages run by the Russian based Internet Research Agency, which had been active during the US election.

Damian Collins, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, hit out at Facebook's response accusing the social media giant of not properly investigating the claims of Russian meddling (file photo)

'It would appear that no work has been done by Facebook to look for other fake accounts and pages that could be linked to Russian backed agencies and which were active during the EU referendum, as I requested.

'Facebook conducted research to identify 10,000s of fake pages and accounts that were active during the French Presidential election.

'They should do the same for the EU referendum, and not just rely on external sources referring evidence of suspicious activity back to them.

'Are we to believe that Russian backed targeting of voters through social media with fake news was limited only to Twitter during the EU referendum, when both Twitter and Facebook had been used by them in the USA during the Presidential election.'

Mr Collins added that he met with Facebook on Wednesday to ask again for a 'full response' to the select committee, as part of its inquiry into fake news.

'This includes looking for Russian activity linked to the 2017 General Election, as well as the EU referendum,' he said.



