political ads
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Twitter apologizes for error that allowed advertisers to target neo-Nazis
Twitter has apologized after the BBC found that the company's ad platform could be gamed to target neo-Nazis, Islamophobes and other hate groups. In a report published on Thursday, the BBC says it was able to use Twitter's advertising tools to broadly identify groups of people who may have been interested in topics like white supremacism and then pay to advertise to them.
Facebook stands firm on decision not to ban lying political ads
Facebook has come under considerable fire for its political ad policy, which essentially gives politicians free rein to post whatever they want with no regard for the truth. In an effort to quell concerns in the lead-up to the 2020 election, the company is rolling out new features for users to control how much political advertising they see.
Facebook exec says the company should stay the course for elections
In a newly leaked memo published by the New York Times, one of Mark Zuckerberg's closest confidants at Facebook argues the company has a "moral" duty to not tip the scales against President Donald Trump in the upcoming election. The post, titled "Thoughts for 2020," was penned by Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, the head of the company's virtual and augmented reality division. In it, he says Facebook shouldn't use the tools at its disposal against the president, using a scene from the Lord of the Rings to justify his rationale.
Spotify will 'pause' airing political ads in early 2020
Spotify, not Facebook, has become the latest tech company to rethink its approach to political ads. Starting early next year, the streaming giant will stop running political ads. Spotify told Ad Age it will "pause" political advertising across both its free ad-supported tier and during any original podcasts it makes. The move will apply only to the US, since it's the one market in which Spotify currently airs such advertisements. Third-party podcasts will still be able to embed political ads in their recordings as long as they adhere to Spotify's content policy.
A bug caused UK election ad spend data to disappear on Facebook
Earlier this week, an unspecified bug caused as many hundreds of thousands of political ads to disappear from Facebook's Ad Library, a tool the company rolled out globally earlier this year to provide more transparency on political spending. According to CNN Business, the bug caused ads to go missing in several countries across the world, including the UK.
Facebook may restrict highly targeted political ads
Facebook may be reluctant to overhaul key parts of its political ad policies, but it appears willing to make a few changes to stop the spread of misinformation. Wall Street Journal sources say Facebook is mulling a ban on political ads that target small audiences (aka microtargeted ads) -- a common tactic for those spreading false claims. It would bump the minimum target size for a political ad from 100 people to a "few thousand," according to the tipsters. While it's not clear how close Facebook is to shifting its policy, the social network has reportedly asked large Democrat and Republican ad buyers for input on that minimum and "other ideas."
Google bans political ad targeting by affiliation and voter records
Google is the latest internet giant to rethink its approach to political ads. The company is limiting the targeting options for election ads to age, gender and general location. US advertisers will no longer be allowed to target based on political leanings or public voting records, for example. The new strategy will take effect in the UK next week (just before the country's General Election), in the EU by the end of 2019, and all other countries by January 6th, 2020.
Snapchat fact-checks political ads where Facebook won't
Snapchat may have another way to compete against rival apps like Instagram: truth in advertising. Snap chief Evan Spiegel told CNBC in an interview that his company has a team that fact-checks all political advertising -- a sharp contrast to Facebook, which has refused to verify the accuracy of political ads so far. The company wants to "create a place" for these ads, Spiegel said, and it's particularly important given Snapchat's young audience. It wants these people to "engage with the political conversation," but it doesn't want false claims to slip into those ads.
The writer of ‘The Social Network’ rails on Zuckerberg in open letter
Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of The Social Network, has become the latest high-profile individual to criticize Facebook for its policy on political ads. In a new open letter addressed to Mark Zuckerberg and published in The New York Times, Sorkin relates how sensitive Facebook was about the biopic when he wrote it almost 10 years ago.
Mark Zuckerberg still won't ban 'political' ads from Facebook
For the better part of the past four years, Facebook just hasn't been able to keep its name out of the bad news cycle. The latest backlash the company is facing has to do with its political ad policies, which essentially allow politicians to spread misinformation on the site. CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the topic during Facebook's Q3 2019 earnings call today, saying he doesn't agree with "critics" who claim the company won't ban these controversial ads because "all we care about is money." Zuckerberg said ads from politicians will be less than 0.5 percent of Facebook's revenue this year, noting that the $5 billion FTC fine was more than 10 times more costly for the company.
Hundreds of employees criticize Facebook's political ad policies
Over the past month, Facebook has come under criticism for allowing politicians to run false or misleading ads. Now, employees are speaking out. More than 250 Facebook employees wrote a letter addressed to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and top Facebook officials calling Facebook's political ad policies "a threat to what FB stands for."
Facebook takes down fake political ad meant to test its fact checking
Facebook's stance on truth in political ads has been put to the test. The social media giant has removed a 'stunt' ad from a Political Action Committee, the Really Online Lefty League, that falsely claimed Republican Senator Lindsey Graham supported the Green New Deal proposed by some Democrats. A company spokesman told Reuters that the ad was eligible for a fact-checking review since it came from a political action group rather than a politician.
Facebook rejects Biden's request to remove false Trump attack ad
Facebook has rejected a request by Joe Biden's presidential campaign to pull down or demote a Donald Trump ad it says contains misinformation. The campaign asked the company to take action against an ad which suggests that "Biden promised Ukraine $1 billion dollars if they fired the prosecutor investigating his son's company." In a letter to Biden's camp obtained by The New York Times, Facebook declined to do so.
TikTok opts out of paid political advertising entirely
While other social networks grapple with complex issues of political speech, growing video platform TikTok has decided not to allow political ads of any kind. We'll have to see how that ban works in practice, as the company's list of disallowed material includes "paid ads that promote or oppose a candidate, current leader, political party or group, or issue at the federal, state, or local level – including election-related ads, advocacy ads, or issue ads." The Beijing-based app said in a statement that "the nature" of political ads don't fit its experience. As TechCrunch notes, it may not have the infrastructure to develop a verification system of the type that Facebook has built to try and manage political advertising, and notes that this statement reiterates the company's existing advertising policy. But the bigger it gets, the more people will ask questions about how censorship, moderation and politics play into the platform's decisions, and now there's a clear statement on at least one angle of its approach.
Russia accuses Facebook, Google of violating political ad laws
Russia is once again butting heads with internet giants over their political advertising. Communications regulator Roskomnadzor has accused Facebook and Google of allowing political ads during regional elections on September 8th despite being a ban on running ads both during the vote and the day before. Officials reportedly warned the companies on September 6th, but they reportedly popped up across the sites, including on YouTube.
Facebook's political ad transparency tools roll out worldwide
Facebook's efforts to improve transparency in political ads are now a truly global affair. The social site has made its transparency tools available to advertisers worldwide, letting them post political and issue ads so long as they're authorized. The disclosure policies remain the same -- if someone else paid for an ad, you should see a "paid for by" disclaimer. The ads themselves will sit in an Ad Library archive for seven years alongside data like the view count and demographics.
Facebook expands Ad Library and tightens ad rules ahead of EU elections
In an effort to prevent foreign interference yet again, Facebook is rolling out more stringent advertising rules in the EU ahead of the European Parliamentary elections. Similar to previous election rules enforced in the US and other locations, anyone who wants to buy political ads in the region must be authorized to run them. Facebook will require them to submit documents proving their identity and will also conduct technical checks to confirm their location, as well as to prevent bad actors from tricking the company. In addition, all political ads in the EU will be labeled with a "Paid for by" disclosure, so voters can clearly see who bought the ad and what their contact details are.
Twitter tightens its political ad rules ahead of EU elections
Twitter is expanding its transparent ads policy to Europe ahead of the European parliament elections in May. The sweeping rules debuted in the US last May after Russia's wide-ranging social media disruption campaign came to light. Beginning March 11, campaigners will have to apply to be certified on Twitter and have an EU-registered address in order to run political ads. Along with Europe, Twitter will enforce the policy in India and Australia, both of which are also preparing for elections this year.
WoW Moviewatch: Warcraft Political Ad: Rend Blackhand '08
In case you haven't had your fill of political attack ads this year, check out this ad for Rend Blackhand '08 created by Gape/Horn Productions. This video, produced for an Orc who apparently wishes to overthrow Thrall, is a virtual Threat Down of everything wrong with Azeroth. PvP is terrorist activity. The Venture Company exploits our natural resources for profit. Trolls are illegal immigrants and Goblins benefit from the outsourcing of our jobs. And you won't even believe what he blames Blood Elves for. Although this video features some epic music (from Psycho, John Philip Sousa, The Right Stuff) and one of the most amusing knock-offs of Rosie the Riveter I've ever seen, the satire is only 50 percent effective. Gape does a good job of winding up but can't seem to throw the pitch over the plate when it comes to the final payoff at the end. I'm not sure if he loses his nerve or if he only had a half-formed idea, but I wish he'd gone for the jugular at the end instead of just quitting.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
