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November 2018

Net neutrality faces its own election challenge in heated midterms

With less than a week to go now before the midterm elections, one of the biggest questions is whether younger voters will show up at the polls. Democrats have seized on network neutrality as an issue to get them to vote. Sen Brian Schatz (D-HI) has said the net neutrality issue could excite and mobilize a sliver of the electorate in a way that's reminiscent of how the National Rifle Association has mobilized voters to passionately protect Second Amendment rights. "It may not be as important to 60 percent of the public," Sen Schatz said in 2017.

President Trump points at the media: You’re to blame for encouraging violence

On his way to campaign rallies in West Virginia and Indiana on Nov 2, President Donald Trump stopped to answer some questions from the media. Karen Travers of ABC News raised a question that’s gained heightened attention recently after a fervent President Trump supporter allegedly mailed bombs to Democratic officials and after a man echoing President Trump’s rhetoric on immigration allegedly killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. “Half of Americans say you’re encouraging politically motivated violence with the way you speak,” Travers said.

Sens Warner, Klobuchar Urge Zuckerberg to Address Loopholes in Facebook’s Ads Transparency Tool

Sens Mark Warner (D-VA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), authors of the Honest Ads Act, urged Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to address significant apparent loopholes in Facebook’s ads transparency tool. While Facebook committed to implementing transparency measures similar to those that the Honest Ads Act would require, they are currently failing to carry out the basic disclosure and disclaimer provisions of the legislation. The major gaps existing in Facebook’s transparency tool could allow adversaries to exploit the platform with continued disinformation efforts. 

We have learned a lot about online disinformation — and we are doing nothing

We have learned a lot about online disinformation — and we are doing nothing.  For these same distorting techniques are still in operation. They will affect the midterm elections. They continue to shape political debate in many countries around the world. They are being used not just by Russians, but by people in the countries they seek to influence. These campaigners, often hiding behind fake accounts, continue to act with impunity, promoting false narratives and relying on the main platforms — Facebook, Twitter, Google, and especially YouTube — to amplify their messages.

How the law protects hate speech on social media

What does the law say about hate speech online? The First Amendment provides broad protection to speech that demeans a person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or similar grounds.

October 29 - November 2, 2018
Weekly Digest

De-Platform Hate?

Benton Foundation

Friday, November 2, 2018

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