A look at the various media used to reach and inform voters during elections -- as well as the impact of new media and media ownership on elections.
Elections and Media
Several groups banned by Facebook had strong similarities to Twitter accounts linked to Russia six weeks ago
At least three groups that Facebook banned recently for spreading disinformation shared similar names and traits with Twitter accounts that had been linked publicly to Russia earlier this year, underscoring the challenges of swiftly shutting down a foreign influence campaign even once strong hints emerge of who is behind it. Facebook’s handling of the situation underscores the nation’s struggles to respond to credible reports of disinformation two years after the first signs that Russians were seeking to manipulate the 2016 presidential election.
Strategists raise alarms about Facebook delays in approving Hispanic political ads
Political strategists say recent moves by Facebook to secure its powerful advertising engine are hampering their ability to communicate with Hispanics and Spanish-speaking audiences ahead of the midterm elections.
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As midterm elections approach, a growing concern that the nation is not protected from Russian interference
Two years after Russia interfered in the American presidential campaign, the nation has done little to protect itself against a renewed effort to influence voters in the coming congressional midterm elections, according to lawmakers and independent analysts. They say that voting systems are more secure against hackers, thanks to action at the federal and state levels — and that the Russians have not targeted those systems to the degree they did in 2016. But Russian efforts to manipulate U.S.
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Facebook Has Identified Ongoing Political Influence Campaign
Facebook has identified a coordinated political influence campaign, with dozens of inauthentic accounts and pages that are believed to be engaging in political activity around divisive social issues ahead of November’s midterm elections. The company detected and removed more than 32 pages and accounts connected to the influence campaign on Facebook and Instagram as part of its investigations into election interference.
Witnesses
Dr. Todd Helmus
Senior Behavioral Scientist, RAND Corporation
Ms. Renee DiResta
Director of Research, New Knowledge
Mr.John Kelly
Founder and CEO, Graphika
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CWA targets AT&T, GOP over post–tax law job losses
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is targeting Republican lawmakers and AT&T in a new advertising campaign aimed at highlighting the telecommunication company’s job cuts after receiving a boost from the GOP’s tax law. The CWA has launched radio ads in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Texas that ties Republican candidates to the job cuts. The group estimates that AT&T has cut 7,000 jobs since the tax bill went into effect in 2018. They accuse the company of using its tax savings to enrich its shareholders and executives rather than investing in workers.
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How they did it (and will likely try again): GRU hackers vs. US elections
In a recent press briefing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced that the grand jury assembled by Special Counsel Robert Mueller had returned an indictment against 12 officers of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff (better known as Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye, or GRU).
Facebook suspends US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
Alex Jones, the American conspiracy theorist who runs the InfoWars website, has been suspended from Facebook for bullying and hate speech. The suspension will last for 30 days, and affects only Jones’s personal account on the social network, not the main InfoWars account. His profile will continue to be published, but he will not be able to post content until the suspension elapses. A Facebook spokesperson said Jones was found to have violated its community standards.
Twitter appears to have fixed search problems that lowered visibility of GOP lawmakers
Twitter appears to have adjusted its platform to no longer limit the visibility of some prominent Republicans in its search results, a problem that the company said was a side effect of its attempts to clean up discourse on its platform. Those affected included RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Republican Reps. Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, along with Andrew Surabian, Donald Trump Jr.’s spokesman and former Special Assistant to the President. The profiles did populate when entering a full search but not not in the more visible search menu.
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National Enquirer’s Yearslong Dealings With Trump Lawyer Fall Under Federal Scrutiny
Michael Cohen and the publisher of the National Enquirer forged an alliance over the years, looking out for the interests of Donald Trump and each other. Now, federal investigators are examining those ties as part of a wide-ranging probe into Cohen’s personal business dealings and his self-described role as Trump’s fixer. Cohen mediated a dispute between Omarosa Manigault-Newman, who had been a star onTrump’s “Apprentice” reality TV show, and the Enquirer over a story about her brother’s murder.