Category Archives: campaigns

60 Minutes Report on Brad Parscale, Trump campaign’s digital director

October 9, 2017, 5:27 pmcampaignsJustin Levitt

An interesting profile on Parscale, including a bit on his interaction with the leading social media companies. UPDATE: here’s a page with the transcript of the video as well. More here at NBC, with a tantalizing headline: Trump’s digital… Continue reading

“Twitter takes down GOP lawmaker’s campaign ad”

October 9, 2017, 5:26 pmcampaignsJustin Levitt

And the issues for social media companies around political ads don’t get any easier. The Hill reports: Twitter took down a campaign ad from Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) that referenced “baby body parts,” the congresswoman’s campaign said on Monday.… Continue reading

“Bannon expands his list of Senate Republican targets for 2018”

October 9, 2017, 5:14 pmcampaigns, political parties, primariesJustin Levitt

CNN covers the expanding GOP civil war.

“Democratic Senator Feinstein, 84, ‘all in’ on re-election”

October 9, 2017, 5:14 pmcampaignsJustin Levitt

Reuters: Feinstein is the oldest U.S. senator but among several octogenarians, including Republicans Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Richard Shelby, Jim Inhofe, Pat Roberts and John McCain.

“Ranked-choice voting alters calculus in Minneapolis, St. Paul races”

October 8, 2017, 1:14 pmalternative voting systems, campaignsJustin Levitt

The Star-Tribune gives local flavor to the campaign incentives under ranked choice voting, with an intriguing contrast of races in which there’s an incumbent and races without.

“Facebook tells advertisers more scrutiny is coming”

October 8, 2017, 1:13 pmcampaignsJustin Levitt

Axios: Facebook is going to require ads that are targeted to people based on “politics, religion, ethnicity or social issues” to be manually reviewed before they go live, according to an email sent to advertisers and obtained by Axios.… Continue reading

“Exclusive: Russian-linked Facebook ads targeted Michigan and Wisconsin”

October 3, 2017, 7:42 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: A number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Donald Trump’s victory last November, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Some of the Russian ads appeared highly sophisticated in… Continue reading

“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