We've known for a while that Russian trolls spread misinformation on social media during the 2016 presidential campaign. Now we learn that Facebook actually sold ads to Russians trying to affect the election in favor of Donald Trump. The question, of course, is did that Russian use of social media actually affect the outcome of the presidential election?
A majority of Americans (54%) think it did affect the outcome, while only 43% don't believe that -- a difference of 11 points. Women (by 18 points), under 45's (by 16 points), over 45's (by 6 points), Nonwhites (by 42 points), those making less than $50k (by 23 points), Democrats (by 66 points), and Independents (by 13 points) agree that Russian use of social media did affect the election outcome.
Men (by 7 points), Whites (by 6 points), those making over $50k (by 1 point), and Republicans (by 67 points) don't believe the Russians affected the outcome of the election.
The chart reflects the results of a new CNN News / SSRS Poll -- done between September 17th and 20th of a random national sample of 1,053 adults, with a 3.7 point margin of error.
