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'Norsemen' producer gamed Netflix's algorithm with Facebook ads
When you open up Netflix, you'll see a splashy promotion for one of its shows or movies. For me right now, it's highlighting the terrific GLOW, the third season of which arrived Friday, and there are other shows showcased alongside it such as in the Trending Now section. That's vital real estate, as what Netflix promotes there can drive a ton of viewership.
Facebook expands election integrity efforts ahead of EU vote
European Parliament elections are set to take place in May, which of course means there are bad actors who will try to use nefarious means to disrupt the process. Facebook is trying to clamp down on interference on its platforms, with measures including new rules for electoral ads and those related to key election issues. Advertisers need to confirm their identities before they can post ads, while Facebook plans to increase transparency around such ads (an effort with which it has faced some difficulties).
Many Facebook users still don't understand how targeted ads work
Despite major scandals, Congressional hearings, and efforts to highlight user privacy controls, most Facebook users still don't know the social network shares their interests with advertisers, according to a new survey conducted by Pew Research Center. When they do find out, they usually aren't pleased to discover how Facebook categorizes them.
Facebook won't require political ad labels for news outlets
Earlier this year, Facebook announced and enacted a plan to require all political advertisements to carry a "Paid for by" label and be listed in an ad archive. Now the company is granting an exemption for those requirements to legitimate news publications. Promoted posts and ads run by approved news outlets will once again able to appear in the News Feed without undergoing Facebook's transparency protocol. The exemption will start in the UK (today also marks the start of ad transparency enforcement in the region) and will come to the US and other countries next year.
Facebook expands mid-video ads to 21 more countries
Facebook is bringing Ad Breaks (the ads you see in the middle of videos on the platform) to 21 more countries, with support for five more languages. Alongside the global rollout of Facebook Watch, Ad Breaks expanded beyond the US last month to the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Facebook's 'playable ads' bring game demos to the news feed
Facebook's next foray into the gaming space is giving players a chance to try mobile games out before they download them. The social network is calling them "Playable Ads," which is fairly self-explanatory. There's a lot of advertising mumbo-jumbo in Facebook's announcement, but the key takeaway is that you'll be able to play a brief section of a given mobile title within the News Feed (from the App Store or Google Play, not a Facebook game) without actually downloading it. Google has tested similar with its Instant Apps and plenty of free-to-play titles have playable advertisements stuffed into their experiences.
Facebook may ban businesses that mislead users about products
In an effort to improve the quality of its advertisements, Facebook will take action against businesses that consistently provide inaccurate shipping times and/or misrepresent what they are selling. According to the social network's research, these are the two biggest frustrations among users in regard to products they have purchased from Facebook advertisers. A new tool, launched today around the world, will allow people to review businesses they've purchased items from.
Facebook is selling ad spots in its Marketplace listings
Facebook is going to put ads in its Marketplace section for online classifieds. That's right, in addition to seeing posts for things like used couches and bed frames, you'll likely see advertisements for Bed, Bath & Beyond and Pier 1. In addition to that, now you'll be able to pay to "Boost" a listing, much like you would a News Feed post or event listing. As TechCrunch reports, these user-paid Boosts don't offer any sort of granularity to who they're targeting.
House Democrats release over 3,500 Russian Facebook ads
Today, Democrats in the House of Representatives released over 3,500 Facebook ads that were purchased by Russia in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. In a Twitter thread, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that the ads were aimed at pushing "divisive online content and videos." He goes on to say, "Russia sought to divide us by our race, by our country of origin, by our religion, and by our political party."
Facebook plans to fix ad system before 2018 US midterm elections
We've heard quite a bit about Russian meddling in the US election through Facebook ads. Last month we reported that Facebook handed over the suspected Russian ads to Congressional investigators. We also learned that the social media giant is hiring 1,000 additional people to approve ads on the platform and will hand-review ads that target politics or race. Now, it turns out Facebook has set a deadline for itself to overhaul its advertising system: the 2018 US election.
Black lawmakers call on Facebook and Twitter to purge racist ads
Facebook and Twitter are facing renewed calls from US lawmakers to ensure ads on their respective platforms aren't used to spread hate. The two firms are currently cooperating with Congressional investigators looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. And now, black Congress members are urging them to probe new ads, and make leadership changes. In a letter obtained by Recode, Reps. Robin Kelly, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Emanuel Cleaver further press the companies to clamp down on ads "aimed at inciting racial discontent" or "voter suppression." They also suggest the companies appoint people of color to their boards of directors, and conduct new audits of targeted advertisements.
What if Russian voter hacks were just part of its Facebook ad campaign?
This week's news that Russian Facebook ads targeted crucial swing states in the 2016 election changes what we know about the voter databases and software systems that were hacked into by Russian military intelligence in key battleground states. News that electronic election systems were hacked by Russian agents prior to the election hit headlines in June. But this was before Facebook was forced to admit that Russian political ads were used to influence voters thanks to the company's sniper-like ad-targeting precision.
Senate committee focuses on Facebook in Russia probe
During a press conference today, the Senate Intelligence Committee gave an update on its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. It also warned that those preparing for 2018 elections should work under the expectation that similar initiatives from Russian operatives will occur. "I recommend every campaign and every elected official take this very seriously," said committee Chairman Richard Burr.
Facebook is hiring 1,000 people to fight shady ads
Now that Facebook has given Russia-linked ads to Congress, it's outlining what it'll do to prevent such a suspicious ad campaign from happening in the future. To begin with, it's promising to make ads more transparent -- it's writing tools that will let you see all the ads a Page runs, not just the ones targeting you. In theory, this could help concerned people spot questionable advertising without requiring help from Facebook or third parties. Most of Facebook's efforts, however, center around toughening the ad review process and the standards that guide them.
Facebook is inserting ads midway through videos
Facebook's ambitions for video have been pretty explicit. And now the social network is (officially) introducing a way for its publishing partners to get paid for them. Rather than front-loading ads the way YouTube and so many others do, these will appear in the middle of videos, according to Recode. Said sales pitches will be 20 seconds long, can't run until a video has been playing for at least 20 seconds and must be spaced two minutes apart.
Facebook starts testing ads in Messenger
It was only a matter of time before Facebook Messenger would start testing ads, after rumors of its plans to do so leaked nearly a year ago. Earlier today, it announced that users in Australia and Thailand will begin seeing sponsored content in the coming weeks, with the experiment being labeled as a way "for people and brands to engage on Messenger." What this means, really, is that you and your friends should expect to see targeted ads in the app soon -- which won't be hard to miss, judging by the image above.
Facebook to kill off Sponsored Results, streamline its advertising efforts
Facebook ads are about to become a tiny bit less obtrusive: the social network just announced that it will stop showing Sponsored Results this July. These ads have appeared alongside brands, groups and more in searches since August of last year, but Facebook made the decision to cut the program after noticing that marketers were using Sponsored Results and mobile app install ads quite similarly. Businesses will still be able to use the latter (and purportedly more effective) method, along with post links ads, when the program ends in July. In other words, don't expect a commercial-free experience.
Facebook reportedly launching 15-second autoplaying ads this summer, taking over the space around your news feed
According to Ad Age's unnamed sources, Facebook is preparing to launch an invasive-sounding ad program this summer through its news feed. Alongside the left and right spaces outside of the news feed, the company is reportedly planning four 15-second autoplay video ads that'll target women over 30, women under 30, men over 30, and men under 30 (so, uh, expect lots of super general advertisers we'd guess -- toilet paper and Coca-Cola, for example). While potentially invasive, the ads are also potentially extremely lucrative; Facebook is apparently seeking near $1 million per day, per advertiser. That's a cool $4 million (roughly) per day, with the potential risk of pushing away the billions of people enabling such an incredibly high ad rate. Facebook's had a strange history with advertising, occasionally amending rules that angered the social network's users (such as targeting marketing based on browsing history). The California-based internet company also outright paused its mobile ad network program last December, citing internal prioritization of other products. As you might've guessed, Facebook reps declined to comment on this report, so it's probably best to reserve your outrage until there's some solid confirmation.
Facebook's new mobile ad network goes into beta, serves advertisements on third party sites and apps
Facebook already sports advertisements baked into its own website and mobile apps, and now it'll begin serving ads on other handset-optimized websites and smartphone applications. TechCrunch reports that the firm has begun testing a new ad network that leverages user data to display hyper-relevant ads on third party turf. Instead of relying on vanilla tracking cookies to gain insight into visitor interests, the platform accesses information including age, gender, likes, location, which apps friends have used and other data points when users are logged into a site or application with Facebook credentials. Zuckerberg and Co.'s solution lets advertisers bid on certain demographics and uses existing networks such as iAds and AdMob to serve appropriate ads based on anonymous ID's tied to Facebook accounts. For now, Menlo Park's new program is limited to the all-important mobile market, but don't be surprised if the service finds its way to the desktop.
