Category Archives: campaigns

“‘This is f—ing crazy’: Florida Latinos swamped by wild conspiracy theories; A flood of disinformation and deceptive claims is damaging Joe Biden in the nation’s biggest swing state.”

September 14, 2020, 1:57 pmcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: George Soros directs a “deep state” global conspiracy network. A Joe Biden win would put America in control of “Jews and Blacks.” The Democratic nominee has a pedophilia problem.Wild disinformation like this is inundating Spanish-speaking residents of South… Continue reading

Blockbuster BuzzFeed Story: “Facebook Is Turning A Blind Eye To Global Political Manipulation, According To This Explosive Secret Memo”

September 14, 2020, 1:32 pmcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

So troubling: Facebook ignored or was slow to act on evidence that fake accounts on its platform have been undermining elections and political affairs around the world, according to an explosive memo sent by a recently fired Facebook employee and… Continue reading

Today’s Must-Read: Sue Halpern: “How the Trump Campaign’s Mobile App is Collecting Huge Amounts of Voter Data”

September 14, 2020, 8:12 amcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

A wow story in the New Yorker: On its face, Phunware seems like a strange choice to develop the campaign’s app. Before working for President Trump, Phunware’s software was being used in relatively few applications, the most popular being a… Continue reading

“Bloomberg Says He’ll Spend $100 Million in Florida to Help Biden”

September 14, 2020, 8:01 amcampaign finance, campaigns, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

NYT: Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and presidential candidate, announced Sunday that he planned to spend $100 million in Florida in the coming weeks to support Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential candidacy.The pledge came as … Continue reading

“Democrats build big edge in early voting”

September 10, 2020, 5:37 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Democrats are amassing an enormous lead in early voting, alarming Republicans who worry they’ll need to orchestrate a huge Election Day turnout during a deadly coronavirus outbreak to answer the surge.The Democratic dominance spreads across an array of battleground… Continue reading

“Trump reports raising $210 million last month, lagging behind Biden’s record-breaking August haul”

September 9, 2020, 8:01 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: President Trump’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and two affiliated fundraising committees on Wednesday announced raising $210 million in August — a sizable sum that still lags behind Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s record-breaking haul last month.The RNC said… Continue reading

“Trump deploys YouTube as his secret weapon in 2020”

September 9, 2020, 9:33 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Most campaigns merely post their television spots on the site. Trump’s YouTube channel, however, is a voluminous and unique collection of news, campaign ads and original web shows. Negative ads like “Don’t let them ruin America” are paired with… Continue reading

“Trump Weighs Putting Up to $100 Million of His Cash Into Race”

September 8, 2020, 7:26 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg: President Donald Trump has discussed spending as much as $100 million of his own money on his re-election campaign, if necessary, to beat Democratic nominee Joe Biden, according to people familiar with the matter.The billionaire president has talked… Continue reading

“How Trump’s Billion Dollar Campaign Lost Its Cash Advantage”

September 7, 2020, 7:42 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Five months later, Mr. Trump’s financial supremacy has evaporated. Of the $1.1 billon his campaign and the party raised from the beginning of 2019 through July, more than $800 million has already been spent. Now some people inside the… Continue reading

“Trump and allies ratchet up disinformation efforts in late stage of campaign”

September 6, 2020, 7:38 pmcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: For President Trump and his allies, it was a week spent spreading doctored and misleading videos.On Aug. 30, the president retweeted footage of a Black man violently pushing a White woman on a subway platform under the caption, “Black… Continue reading

“Political group tied to Kanye West campaign law firm sent misinformation on Biden with mail-in ballot applications to battleground state voters”

September 4, 2020, 7:28 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: An Ohio-based political advocacy group that shares a Republican-allied law firm with Kanye West’s political campaign is sending unsolicited mail-in ballot applications containing misinformation on Democratic candidates to voters in Pennsylvania and Minnesota — both key battleground states for… Continue reading

“Facebook will limit some advertising in the week before the US election — but it will let politicians run ads with lies”

September 3, 2020, 8:30 amcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

CNN: In an attempt to combat efforts to undermine the US presidential election in November, Facebook on Thursday took several steps it says will address concerns about election interference on its platform.But Facebook will continue to allow politicians to … Continue reading

“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

“Biden posts stunning monthly cash haul: $365 million”

September 2, 2020, 9:48 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee reported raising a record $365 million in August, surprising even seasoned party fundraisers and putting to rest fears that President Trump would drown him in campaign spending.The staggering cash coincides with Biden… Continue reading