Political Conventions Are Muddled, but Candidates’ Digital Ad Spend Is Clear

If things had gone as planned, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden would be in Milwaukee, Wisc. right now, preparing to accept his party’s nomination for the presidential election and we would already know who he’s chosen as vice president. But 2020 is not going as planned, on so many levels. The Democratic National Convention (DNC)…

Barack Obama’s, Joe Biden’s Accounts Accessed in Large-Scale Twitter Breach

A series of high-profile Twitter accounts were accessed in quick succession Wednesday, including those of former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden, the current leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. Additionally, the accounts of rapper Kanye West and billionaires Mike Bloomberg, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos were also…

UK Government Urges Brits to Embrace ‘New Start’ with Major Brexit Campaign

The U.K has been part of the European Union since 1973, but the country voted to leave in 2016 in favor of, as the government slogan said, “taking back control” of its own trading relationships and its own borders. After what felt like a very long two years of arguments and political wrangling, the country…

Blacks, Younger Users, Democrats More Likely to Turn to Social Platforms for Activism

Pew Research Center examined how race, ethnicity, age and political affiliation impacts activism on social media among adults in the U.S. The nonpartisan think tank surveyed 4,708 U.S. adults between June 16 and 22, and it found that over the one month prior to the survey, 36% had used social media platforms to post images…

Facebook: How to Stop Seeing Political Ads

Recently, Facebook announced that it would allow users to “opt out” of seeing political ads on the social network. Specifically, Facebook said this feature will allow users to stop seeing all advertisements that have the political disclaimer “Paid for by …” When you turn this setting on for your Facebook account, the option says you’ll…

Roger Stone Gets Caught in Facebook’s Coordinated Inauthentic Activity Net

Facebook removed four separate networks for violating its policies against foreign interference and coordinated inauthentic behavior, including one that originated in the U.S. and was tied to conservative political consultant Roger Stone, who worked on the 2016 campaign for President Donald Trump in its early stages. Stone was convicted on seven counts in February–including witness…

Most Americans Don’t Trust President Trump’s Covid-19 Briefings

Most Americans don’t trust Covid-19 information from President Donald Trump and his administration, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center. Of the over 9,500 people surveyed, 29% said the White House gets facts right “some of the time” and 36% said it got them right “hardly ever.” But nearly 67% of Americans…

Upon Further Review, Facebook Will Label Politicians’ Posts That Violate Its Rules

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking a page out of the Twitter handbook, revealing during a Facebook Live video Friday afternoon that the social network will begin labeling content from elected officials that it deems newsworthy, but that would otherwise violate its policies. Zuckerberg explained in a separate post that this occurs “a handful of…

TikTok Users Abandon Carts En Masse on President Trump’s Online Store

Days after TikTok users said they fueled lower-than-expected turnout at President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Okla., they have a new target: Trump’s online store. A new series of videos are circulating on the platform asking consumers to fill their carts with Trump merchandise–like the $75 Keep America Great ugly Christmas sweater or the $30…

Twitter Makes National Election Days Paid Holidays for Employees Worldwide

Twitter is making national election voting days paid days off for its workforce around the world. Senior communications manager Nick Pacilio said teams responsible for functions related to elections, such as security, will be on hand during elections, adding that the previous policy was to give employees two hours off of paid time to go…

As Masks Become Political, Vistaprint’s Ad Celebrates Them as Signs of Love and Solidarity

It’s a deft marketer that can navigate the political fray these days, especially on a hot-button topic like face masks. Vistaprint aims to do just that with a campaign called, “This is not a mask.” The spot, which launched over the weekend, shows kids playing outdoors and adults visiting their local haunts. They’re all wearing…

Trump Tweets Fake CNN Clip of ‘Racist Baby,’ Twitter Labels It ‘Manipulated Media’

Twitter labeled one of President Donald Trump’s tweets as “manipulated media” on Thursday evening, two hours after he posted it. The offending tweet featured a doctored video of a Black child chasing a white child with the caption “Terrified toddler runs from racist baby.” It was edited with a CNN logo and a fake chyron…

Facebook Removes Trump Campaign Ads for Including Symbol Used by Nazis

Facebook took unprecedented action against the reelection campaign for President Donald Trump, removing multiple advertisements that used Nazi iconography that warned against “dangerous mobs of far-left groups.” The advertisements, posted by the pages for Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Team Trump, a campaign account, used an upside-down red triangle to rail against Antifa, a…

Facebook Users Can Now Opt Out of Seeing Political Ads

On Facebook, you no longer have to see political ads if you don’t want to. The ability to hide political ads went in place Tuesday and will roll out to all U.S. users of Facebook and Instagram over the next few weeks, Facebook vp of product management and social impact Naomi Gleit announced in a…

Reddit Users to CEO: Root Out Racism on the Platform Once and for All

Reddit users want the site to do more to root out racism and hate speech on the platform. More than 200 communities on the site signed an open letter today addressed to CEO Steve Huffman, urging him to take on a series of reforms they believe will help cut down the behavior. The letter, which…

LinkedIn Will Restrict Content Deemed Violent or False, Including From Trump

This week, leaked audio files of LinkedIn general counsel Blake Lawit made the rounds, in which he addressed how the professional network would handle content from President Donald Trump and other elected officials in cases where it could spur violence or contains misinformation. Today, LinkedIn confirmed the authenticity of the audio, obtained by Patrick Coffee…

Twitter Removes Trump Video for Copyright Infringement

Twitter removed a video tweeted by two of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign accounts for copyright infringement Thursday, leading the president to once again accuse the social platform of censoring him. As first reported by Politico, the video was a Trump-narrated tribute to George Floyd, the Black man killed by Minneapolis police officers last week whose…

Facebook Will Start Labeling State-Controlled Media Outlets

Facebook will start rolling out labels for state-controlled media outlets ahead of this year’s U.S. elections, an initiative the company first announced in October. “We’re providing greater transparency into these publishers because they combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a state, and we believe people should know if the…

What Happens When Politicians Break the Rules on Social Media?

Twitter and Facebook executives have been at opposite ends of a crucial debate over the acceptability of President Donald Trump’s posts. Their interpretations of the same message call into question how other social media platforms will consider the president’s posts moving forward and what it means for private users with accounts on those websites, particularly…

Snapchat Will No Longer Promote President Trump’s Account

Snapchat will no longer promote President Donald Trump’s account on its Discovery channel following statements he made off the platform this weekend, the company said today. “We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” a Snapchat spokesperson confirmed to Adweek. “Racial violence and injustice have…