Category Archives: campaigns

“Facebook Seeks Shutdown of NYU Research Project Into Political Ad Targeting”

October 23, 2020, 5:01 pmcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

WSJ: Facebook is demanding that a New York University research project cease collecting data about its political-ad targeting practices, setting up a fight with academics seeking to study the platform without the company’s permission.The dispute involves the NYU Ad… Continue reading

“Twitter Changes Course After Republicans Claim ‘Election Interference’”

October 16, 2020, 10:36 amcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump called Facebook and Twitter “terrible” and “a monster” and said he would go after them. Senators Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn said they would subpoena the chief executives of the companies for their… Continue reading

“Adelsons pour $75M into last-ditch effort to save Trump”

October 15, 2020, 1:07 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson gave $75 million to a super PAC that flooded battleground states with anti-Joe Biden ads in September, a huge investment from the GOP megadonors as President Donald Trump slipped in… Continue reading

“ActBlue’s stunning third quarter: $1.5 billion in donations”

October 15, 2020, 12:30 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Democratic candidates and left-leaning groups raised $1.5 billion through ActBlue over the last three months — a record-smashing total that reveals the overwhelming financial power small-dollar donors have unleashed up and down the ballot ahead of the 2020 election.From… Continue reading

“Biden raised whopping $383M in September”

October 14, 2020, 8:59 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Joe Biden announced Wednesday evening that his campaign and affiliated committees raised $383 million in September, breaking a record he had just set the prior month as his campaign continues to ride a surge of online donations.Biden, the… Continue reading

“‘Green tsunami’: Inside Senate Republicans’ financial freak-out”

October 12, 2020, 9:13 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: The online fundraising edge that Democrats have enjoyed for years has mushroomed into an overpowering force, with small-dollar donors smashing “donate” buttons over the last three months to process their disgust for President Donald Trump, fury with Senate… Continue reading

“Jaime Harrison raised record-breaking $57 million in third quarter, campaign says”

October 11, 2020, 9:50 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: Democrat Jaime Harrison raised a record-breaking $57 million in the past three months in his bid to unseat Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), shattering the mark for a Senate candidate.The single-quarter haul Harrison raised from July through September smashes… Continue reading

“Trump Engineered a Sudden Windfall in 2016 A Campaign Funds Dwindled”

October 9, 2020, 9:03 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Donald J. Trump needed money.His “self-funded” presidential campaign was short on funds, and he was struggling to win over leery Republican donors. His golf courses and the hotel he would soon open in the Old Post Office in… Continue reading

Mitch McConnell Laments the Small Donor Revolution

October 9, 2020, 7:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

I’m going to have a lot more to say about this after the election: On Thursday, in a conference call with a group of lobbyists, Mr. McConnell vented that the party’s Senate candidates are being financially overwhelmed because of small-dollar… Continue reading

“Record $13 Billion Raised for 2020 Elections Spurs Ad Avalanche”

September 30, 2020, 11:28 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg Government: The 2020 election has generated a record $13.3 billion in federal campaign contributions, funding a barrage of political advertising that strategists say risks blurring candidate messaging.The unprecedented outpouring of campaign cash raised through Sept. 28 is more than… Continue reading

“Trump’s 2016 Campaign Listed Millions of Black Voters It Wanted to Stop From Voting, Leak Reveals”

September 28, 2020, 9:29 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Daily Beast: Over three million Black voters in key states were identified by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign as people they had to persuade to stay at home on Election Day to help him reach the White House.The revelation comes… Continue reading

“Facebook allowed hundreds of misleading super PAC ads, activist group finds”

September 24, 2020, 7:39 amcampaign finance, campaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

CNN: Facebook (FB) has allowed political advertisers to target hundreds of misleading ads about Joe Biden and the US Postal Service to swing-state voters ranging from Florida to Wisconsin in recent weeks, in an apparent failure to… Continue reading

“Facebook Takes Down Fake Pages Created in China Aimed at Influencing U.S. Election”

September 23, 2020, 7:45 amcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Facebook has detected limited Chinese operations intended to both help and hurt President Trump’s re-election chances, the company announced on Tuesday, the first public disclosure of Chinese efforts to influence the presidential election in November.The Chinese activity, while modest… Continue reading

“Streaming Services Are A ‘Wild West’ For Political Ads, Mozilla Finds”

September 23, 2020, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Video Insider: Political ads have followed consumers to popular streaming services. But unlike traditional TV broadcasters, streamers are not required to disclose how ads are targeted or who is viewing them. And while social media platforms have begun to… Continue reading