Category Archives: cheap speech

“DHS withheld July intelligence bulletin calling out Russian attack on Biden’s mental health”

September 2, 2020, 10:43 amcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

ABC News: In early July the Department of Homeland Security withheld publication of an intelligence bulletin warning law enforcement agencies of a Russian scheme to promote “allegations about the poor mental health” of former Vice President Joe Biden… Continue reading

“Digital Disinformation and Vote Suppression”

September 2, 2020, 9:04 amcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

New Brennan Center report.

“Russian internet trolls hired U.S. journalists to push their news website, Facebook says”

September 1, 2020, 5:31 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC News: Peace Data aimed to court left-leaning voters, said Ben Nimmo, whose company, Graphika, released a report on the site.“This looks like an attempt to target left-wing audiences on a range of issues, but the operation got taken… Continue reading

“Instagram Posts Make False Claim California Voters Will Be ‘Turned Away’ From Polls Due To Mail-In Voting”

September 1, 2020, 5:24 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Cap Radio reports.

“Republicans are flooding the internet with deceptive videos and Big Tech isn’t keeping up”

September 1, 2020, 11:19 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: A series of deceptively edited and misleading videos shared by prominent Republicans have run up millions of views across Facebook and Twitter in just the past few days. And while both companies have pledged to combat misinformation, their… Continue reading

“As election looms, Russian trolls are targeting Americans again, Facebook says”

September 1, 2020, 11:14 amcheap speechRick Hasen

CNN: People associated with the infamous St. Petersburg troll group that was part of Russia’s attempt to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election are trying to target Americans again, Facebook (FB) announced Tuesday after receiving a… Continue reading

“Twitter changing labeling practices after deceptive videos hit Biden”

August 31, 2020, 7:55 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Politico: Twitter said Monday it will begin displaying warning labels on shared posts that contain misleading or doctored videos after facing complaints that it failed to do enough to limit the spread of deceptive clips targeting Joe Biden’s campaign.Key… Continue reading

“Google greenlights ads with ‘blatant disinformation’ about voting by mail”

August 28, 2020, 1:22 pmcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Google has declined to remove ads from a shadowy group echoing President Trump’s misleading claim that there is a meaningful difference between voting by mail and absentee voting.Google took five days to reach its decision to leave… Continue reading

“What if Facebook Is the Real ‘Silent Majority’?”

August 28, 2020, 7:15 amcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

Kevin Roose for the NYT: Listen, liberals. If you don’t think Donald Trump can get re-elected in November, you need to spend more time on Facebook.Since the 2016 election, I’ve been obsessively tracking how partisan political content is performing on… Continue reading

“Viral pro-Trump tweets came from fake African American spam accounts, Twitter says; Disinformation experts are anticipating that social media platforms will continue to be central to foreign and domestic efforts to mislead voters.”

August 27, 2020, 8:50 pmcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC News: Twitter has taken action to stop a spam operation that pushed messages from fake accounts about Black people abandoning the Democratic Party.The company removed two fake accounts and deleted the account of a San Diego man who… Continue reading

“Black voters are being targeted in disinformation campaigns, echoing the 2016 Russian playbook”

August 27, 2020, 8:41 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Four years after Russian operatives used social media in a bid to exacerbate racial divisions in the United States and suppress Black voter turnout, such tactics have spread across a wide range of deceptive online campaigns operated from numerous… Continue reading

Times of Israel Takes Deep Dive into Psy Group’s Connection with Trump Campaign (as Detailed in Senate Intelligence Committee Report), Including Proposal to Target Minority Communities, Suburban Female Voters, and Undecided Voters with Covert Messaging

August 25, 2020, 10:38 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Times of Israel: On August 18, the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the fifth volume of its Russia investigation, which examines Russia’s attempts to meddle in US politics during the 2016 elections. An entire section of the… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law