• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, February 20, 2018

Facebook Vice President-Ads Rob Goldman posted an internal company message apologizing for a series of tweets he made Friday characterizing Russia’s use of ads on Facebook as a big nothingburger.

“I wanted to apologize for having tweeted my own view about Russian interference without having it reviewed by anyone internally,” according to a copy of the statement reported by Wired. “The tweets were my own personal view and not Facebook’s. I conveyed my view poorly. The Special Counsel has far more information about what happened [than] I do—so seeming to contradict his statements was a serious mistake on my part.

“To those of you who have reached out this weekend to offer your support, thank you. It means more than you know. And to all of you who have worked so hard over the last six months to demonstrate that we understand our responsibility to prevent abuse on Facebook—and are working hard to do better in the future—my deepest apologies."

Goldman’s tweets went viral when a notable Twitter user -- @realDonaldTrump -- retweeted his comments as proof that Russia did not influence the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election.

“That’s when, according to executives at the company, Facebook realized it was holding a shit sandwich,” writes Wired’s Nicholas Thompson, adding: “It’s also when the company realized Goldman’s more subtle error: He had made it look like his company was repudiating the work of Robert Mueller.”