Category Archives: campaigns

“Open up the black box of political advertising”

September 23, 2017, 12:38 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Chris Elmendorf, Ann Ravel and Abby Wood in SF Chronicle: Micro-targeted political advertising raises two sets of concerns: It’s likely to exacerbate political polarization, and the erosion of broadly shared norms against hateful ideologies such as white supremacy. Political… Continue reading

“Facebook Is Now The Federal Election Commission, But With More Secrets”

September 23, 2017, 12:31 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Paul Blumenthal for HuffPo: In what looked like a presidential address with a distinct Silicon Valley aesthetic, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed his private online nation of 2 billion users on Thursday from his glass-walled office space. He went live… Continue reading

“At Menendez Trial, Legal Wrestling Over Definition of ‘Constituent’”

September 23, 2017, 12:22 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: The prosecution, citing Black’s Law Dictionary, argued in a brief filed on Tuesday that “the straightforward answer is that Senator Menendez’s constituents are the New Jerseyans that he was elected to represent in the United States Senate.” But the… Continue reading

Republican Governors Association Launches News Site, Doesn’t Reveal Its Backing until AP Asks

September 19, 2017, 7:19 amcampaignsRick Hasen

AP: The Republican Governors Association has quietly launched an online publication that looks like a media outlet and is branded as such on social media. The Free Telegraph blares headlines about the virtues of GOP governors, while framing Democrats negatively.… Continue reading

“How the FEC Turned a Blind Eye to Foreign Meddling”

September 18, 2017, 9:01 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Ann Ravel for Politico: I suggested to the commission that the FEC consult with internet and tech experts to discuss how the agency’s current approach may or may not fit with future innovations. Starting this conversation should have been noncontroversial,… Continue reading