“Congress’s New Bill Can’t Eliminate Russian Influence Online”
Wired reports.
See my earlier Politico piece, Why Banning Russian Facebook Ads Might Be Impossible.
Category Archives: chicanery
Bloomberg View: Honest Ads Act “Whole Inadequate” but “Entirely Necessary”
“Senators Demand Online Ad Disclosures as Tech Lobby Mobilizes”
NYT:
Senator John McCain and two Democratic senators moved on Thursday to force Facebook, Google and other internet companies to disclose who is purchasing online political advertising, after revelations that Russian-linked operatives bought deceptive ads in the run-up to the… Continue reading
“Trump Campaign Staffers Pushed Russian Propaganda Days Before the Election”
Daily Beast:
Some of the Trump campaign’s most prominent names and supporters, including Trump’s campaign manager, digital director and son, pushed tweets from professional trolls paid by the Russian government in the heat of the 2016 election campaign.
The Twitter… Continue reading
“Roy Moore’s Senate campaign blames Democrats for fake Twitter followers”
Weigel:
Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for Senate in Alabama, gained then lost thousands of apparently fake Twitter followers in the space of a few hours — a situation that his campaign blamed on Democrats.
“We highly doubt that reporters… Continue reading
“Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg just hinted that Russian-bought ads could be fair game”
Business Insider:
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told Axios’ Mike Allen on Thursday that the company would not have removed the political ads purchased by accounts operating out of Russia if they had been posted by real people rather… Continue reading
“We Asked Facebook 12 Questions About the Election, and Got 5 Answers”
NYT.
One of the questions Facebook did not answer:
12.Your advertiser website lists “success stories” of political campaigns that have used Facebook advertising to increase turnout and win elections. Knowing that Facebook could be used to influence election results, why… Continue reading
“20th Century Law Can’t Regulate 21st Century Technology”
Ciara Torres Spelliscy:
As much as fun as it is to beat up on Facebook, the problem lies far deeper than any social media platform, no matter how ubiquitous. Simply put, 20th century law is being used to regulate 21st … Continue reading
“Senate Democrats worry Russia could jeopardize reelection bids”
Politico:
Democratic senators such as Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jon Tester of Montana — who hail from states President Donald Trump won in 2016 — know they’re already facing stiff reelection challenges.
Now they’re… Continue reading
“Hack-Vulnerable Voting Machines a ‘National Security Threat,’ Experts Warn”
Celeste Katz:
It happened in Las Vegas, but the weaknesses in U.S. voting equipment uncovered during a summer hackathon are too important to stay there, experts say. They’re a matter of national security.
A new report breaks down the lessons… Continue reading
“How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. Politics”
Today’s must-read:
A New York Times examination of hundreds of those posts shows that one of the most powerful weapons that Russian agents used to reshape American politics was the anger, passion and misinformation that real Americans were broadcasting across… Continue reading
“Now, Microsoft is reviewing its records for potential Russian meddling during the 2016 election”
Recode reports:
Microsoft is currently reviewing its sales records to determine whether trolls aligned with the Russian government purchased ads on Bing or other company products during the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
I’ll be interested indeed to see whether… Continue reading
“If Russia Comes Calling, Feds and States United for Election Cybersecurity”
Here’s a more optimistic assessment of electoral cybersecurity preparedness than yesterday’s version; it’s focused on the 28-member federal-state Election Critical Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council.
“These Groups Offer to Secure the Next Elections From Hackers”
Fortune has a different scoop from the same report:
Ethical hackers will team up with U.S. governors, academics and others to help prevent election results from being hacked, according to a person familiar with the plan.
The coalition’s members include… Continue reading