The ads were mostly for Facebook groups. Once those groups had a substantial subscribership, the Russians were able to push out far more vitriolic propaganda without having to pay for the audience.
Repeating "just the tip of the iceberg" three times in this discussion already looks like programming of public opinion kind of thing. Without proof of any sort.
That trick is as old as the Church that invented it for the obvious purpose.
That's like "election meddling" repeated on CNN 10 times per day just to convince people "it was something but we will not tell you what".
The ads are just the tip of the iceberg.