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Report highlights blindspots in Facebook's fight against voting misinformation
A tool that Facebook says can help state officials monitor voting misinformation doesn’t give users a complete picture of Facebook activity, according to a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).
Twitter makes its ‘biggest push ever’ to encourage voter registration
As part of National Voter Registration Day, Twitter is rolling out new tools to connect US users with voter registration resources.
Facebook is running a national ad campaign to encourage voting
Facebook is launching a national consumer awareness campaign around voting, with information on registering, a “vote-a-thon” and in-app consumer marketing campaign.
Recommended Reading: Microsoft's Panos Panay on the Surface Duo
Recommended Reading highlights the week's noteworthy writing on technology and more.
Pinterest users won't see ads when they search for election-related content
Pinterest is implementing new policies to limit the amount and spread of misleading information related to the upcoming US presidential election.
Facebook limits forwarding on Messenger to fight misinformation
Facebook hopes its Messenger forwarding limit will slow the spread of misinformation.
Microsoft will identify manipulated media with a confidence score
Microsoft is rolling out new tools to combat misinformation, specifically deepfakes.
Twitter hides Trump tweet for potentially discouraging voting
Twitter has once again flagged and hidden one of President Trump’s tweets, this time “for making misleading health claims that could potentially dissuade people from participation in voting.”
YouTube will remove videos that encourage election meddling
It'll also yank ones containing hacked information that could interfere with elections.
Report finds many US election officials vulnerable to phishing attacks
Security researchers have determined that some US election officials are vulnerable to phishing attacks, whether through accounts or software.
TikTok users and K-pop fans say they wrecked Trump's Tulsa rally
TikTok users and K-pop fans say they sabotaged Trump's Tulsa rally through campaigns to reserve tickets and not show up.
Many of Georgia's new voting machines aren't working on primary day
Many voters are enduring long waits and some poll locations quickly ran out of provisional ballots.
Study finds security holes in online voting for New Jersey and West Virginia (updated)
Researchers say they've found privacy and security issues in OmniBallot's online voting platform.
Google says state-backed hackers are targeting Trump and Biden campaigns
Google’s security researchers say state-backed hackers from Iran and China have targeted the Trump and Biden presidential campaigns, respectively.
Facebook and Instagram test location labels to fight election meddling
Facebook and Instagram are again trying to make it harder for foreign propaganda to spread.
Elizabeth Warren campaign open sources its organizing tools
The impact of Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign might be felt well after it ended. The Warren for President team is open-sourcing some of its key get-out-the-vote projects to help other politicians and cause supporters with their own efforts. These include the peer-to-peer texting platform Spoke, the polling location search tool Pollaris, a Caucus App used in Iowa (above) and the data handling app Redhook, among other tools.
HBO’s 'Kill Chain' doc highlights the flaws in US election machines
While COVID-19 might be putting just about everything else on hold, we're still marching towards a presidential election later this year. After the high-profile interference of 2016, election security and foreign meddling are still critical issues, but many states still aren't doing enough to ensure the integrity of the process. A documentary premiering tonight on HBO proves a sobering reminder of the fragility of America's voting infrastructure.
Facebook labels manipulated video of Biden 'endorsing' Trump as 'partly false'
Twitter isn't the only one flagging a manipulated Trump video to warn users. Facebook has labeled a video of presidential hopeful Joe Biden appearing to endorse Trump as "partly false information," citing independent fact-checking from Lead Stories. The company told Engadget in a statement that it was both "reducing [the video's] distribution" and applying warning labels, and that it was applying the treatment to a politician just as it would for a bogus video shared by anyone else.
The Iowa app debacle is a bad omen for modernizing our elections
The American electoral system is a weird arcane thing. And primary politics even more so. Honestly, I could spend the next 2,000 words trying to explain the caucus process and, chances are, I'd still only be scratching the surface. So, I've got to hand it to the Iowa Democratic Party for managing to make things even more confusing with its half-baked attempt to bring modern technology into the process. It took the party nearly a week to certify the results and award Pete Buttigieg the most delegates. It's worth noting that most news outlets, including the Associated Press, which usually verifies election results, have so far refused to declare a winner. And now Bernie Sanders' campaign is asking that some precincts be re-canvassed. It's been over a week and this thing shows no signs of ending. How did we get here? Well, like so many tragedies, this is a story of good intentions gone awry.
Google offers free Titan security keys to help secure political campaigns
While Facebook stands firm on its decision not to ban false political ads, Google is moving in the other direction. After banning political ad targeting last year, the company has announced new plans to help tighten security within campaigns. In partnership with non-profit Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC), the search giant will be distributing its Titan security keys for free to political groups.