Category Archives: campaigns

“Russians took a page from corporate America by using Facebook tool to ID and influence voters”

October 3, 2017, 7:38 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Russian operatives set up an array of misleading Web sites and social media pages to identify American voters susceptible to propaganda, then used a powerful Facebook tool to repeatedly send them messages designed to influence their political behavior, say… Continue reading

10 Million People Saw Russian-Paid Ads From Fake Divisive Groups

October 2, 2017, 6:17 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: The Russians who posed as Americans on Facebook last year tried on quite an array of disguises. There was “Defend the 2nd,” a Facebook page for gun-rights supporters, festooned with firearms and tough rhetoric. There was a rainbow-hued page… Continue reading

“How to stop Russian robots from attacking the next election”

October 2, 2017, 4:13 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Senator Amy Klobuchar WaPo oped.

“Google Prepares to Brief Congress on Its Role in Election”

October 1, 2017, 8:47 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Facebook can’t protect elections on its own”

October 1, 2017, 3:13 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

WaPo editorial.

“Why Retirements May Hold the Key in Whether Republicans Can Keep the House”

September 29, 2017, 8:11 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for NYT’s The Upshot: Democrats often lament that the House electoral playing field is stacked against them, but that’s not their only problem. The Republican structural edge in the House is fully realized only with the added advantage… Continue reading

Federal District Court Upholds NY Ballot Selfie Law Against First Amendment Challenge, Applying Strict Scrutiny

September 28, 2017, 9:20 amcampaignsRick Hasen

In a careful 41-page opinion in Silberberg v. Board of Elections, a federal district court in New York has upheld against First Amendment challenge a New York law that bars photographing and displaying one’s marked ballot. The court held… Continue reading

“Twitter, With Accounts Linked to Russia, to Face Congress Over Role in Election”

September 28, 2017, 7:22 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: For three weeks, a harsh spotlight has been trained on Facebook over its disclosure that Russians used fake pages and ads, designed to look like the work of American activists, to spread inflammatory messages during and since the… Continue reading

“Exclusive: Russian-bought Black Lives Matter ad on Facebook targeted Baltimore and Ferguson”

September 28, 2017, 7:17 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, sources with knowledge of the ads told CNN.

Campaign Legal Center Hosting Event on Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections on Oct. 12

September 28, 2017, 7:11 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Details and RSVP.

Some Russian-Paid Facebook Ads May Have Contained Express Advocacy, Making Them Illegal Under Current Law

September 26, 2017, 7:19 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was the beneficiary of at least one Russian-bought ad on Facebook that federal government officials suspect were intended to influence the 2016 election. Other advertisements paid for by shadowy Russian buyers criticized Hillary… Continue reading

“Why Banning Russian Facebook Ads Might Be Impossible”

September 26, 2017, 10:52 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Politico magazine. It begins: Lost amid the debate over whether Facebook can be trusted to police itself to stop Russian and other foreign interference in future U.S. elections or whether new legislation is necessary… Continue reading

“The end of political campaigns as we know them? A new study suggests we’re doing it all wrong.”

September 26, 2017, 7:47 amcampaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: Billions of dollars are spent every election cycle on advertising, which accounts for the lion’s share of the money in U.S. politics. Campaigns also spend countless hours organizing voter contacts in hopes of winning over would-be supporters. A… Continue reading

“Russian operatives used Facebook ads to exploit divisions over black political activism and Muslims”

September 25, 2017, 2:30 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African-American rights groups including Black Lives Matter and… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law