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See every single Russian Facebook ad that ran during the 2016 election cycle
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The agency used the ads to promote political chaos and damage to the countrys democracy, according to Congress. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News special workflow
Published: May 16, 2018, 1:29 PM
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released more than 3,000 Facebook ads that ran from 2015 to 2017, which were bought by Russias Internet Research Agency.

The agency used the ads to promote political chaos and damage to the countrys democracy, according to Congress.

The ads appeared on both Facebook and Instagram.

You can see all the ads here. You can download the ads, which take 7.9 gigabytes of data.

The ads portray a mixed set of political bias. Some denounce then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, while others insult Hillary Clinton.

Many of the ads, placed by Russians posing as Americans, didn't endorse a specific candidate but spread inflammatory messages on sensitive subjects such as immigration and race to amplify fault lines in American life, targeting users from specific backgrounds and tight races in key states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Virginia, according to USA Today.

Congress released small portions of the posts last year. About 11 million people saw the 3,000 ads. In fact, nearly 120 million Americans may have been exposed to the organic posts that were not posted as ads, too, CNN reported.

Congress hopes releasing the ads will help people stay safe in the future.

"The only way we can begin to inoculate ourselves against a future attack is to see first-hand the types of messages, themes and imagery the Russians used to divide us," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee, according to Axios.

"Ultimately, by exposing these advertisements, we hope to better protect legitimate political expression and discussions and better safeguard Americans from having their information ecosystem polluted by foreign adversaries," Schiff wrote in a statement, according to Wired. We will continue to work with Facebook and other tech companies to expose additional content, advertisements, and information as our investigation progresses.

According to CNN, the IRA was accused of taking sides in its use of ads. Though it's clear they had both pro-Trump and pro-Clinton ads, an indictment against the IRA said the group was told to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump we support them)."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.