FACEBOOK turned a blind eye to Moscow’s interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election and instigated a cover-up, it’s claimed.

But the social media goliath has denied allegations in an explosive investigation that it hid knowledge about Russian meddling and dealt with crisis was "delay, deny and deflect".

A New York Times investigation alleged bosses Mark Zuckerberg and Cheryl Sandberg were so obsessed with growing Facebook they "ignored warning signs and then sought to conceal them from public view".

The newspaper reported security chief Alex Stamos had in fact amassed evidence showing Russian activity before the election.

Facebook executives were angry that Mr Stamos had directed a team to investigate Kremlin interference without approval, it's claimed.

Ms Sandberg is reported to have said that probing Moscow meddling left the company exposed to legal action.

Any mention of the investigation on blog posts were told to be “less specific”.

In October 2017 Facebook admitted in the US that it allowed suspect Russian groups to post 3,000 ads to help propel President Trump to victory.

In spring of this year the firm became engulfed in a data breach which involved company called Cambridge Analytica which was linked to the presidential campaign.

It sought information on Facebook to build psychological profiles on a large portion of the US electorate.

Then in July protesters organisers with a coalition called Freedom from Facebook interrupted a House Judiciary Committee hearing where the social media giant’s executive was giving testimony.

They were waving placards showing Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg as two heads of an octopus, wrapping its tentacles around the globe.

The New York Times alleges Facebook had called a Jewish civil rights organisation called the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and asked them to comment on the sign.

The ADL posted a statement calling the image an "anti-Semitic trope".

The newspaper report also claims Facebook hired a PR firm called Definers to discredit critics.

This was allegedly done by spreading false information, claiming they were agents of billionaire and champion of liberal causes George Soros.

A Facebook statement did not address the ADL allegations but said it was wrong for the New York Times to suggest that the company ever asked Definers to pay for or write articles on Facebook’s behalf – or to spread misinformation.

The statement also said: “We’ve acknowledged publicly on many occasions – including before Congress – that we were too slow to spot Russian interference on Facebook, as well as other misuse.

“After the election, no one ever discouraged Alex Stamos from looking into Russian activity — as he himself acknowledged on Twitter

“In the two years since the 2016 Presidential election, we’ve invested heavily in more people and better technology to improve safety and security on our services.

“While we still have a long way to go, we’re proud of the progress we have made in fighting misinformation, removing bad content and preventing foreign actors from manipulating our platform.”