Study: 26% of Adults in the US Get News on YouTube

Pew Research Center Monday shared a study on U.S. adults who turn to YouTube for news and the channels they are turning to on the Google-owned website. The think tank surveyed 12,638 U.S. adults from Jan. 6 through 20, as well as conducting an analysis of the 377 most popular YouTube news channels as of…

Judge Allows Downloads of TikTok to Continue, Halting Trump’s App Store Ban

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., today halted the Trump administration’s ban on new downloads of TikTok, hours before a midnight deadline would have compelled Apple and Google to drop the popular social media app from their marketplaces. Carl Nichols, a judge for the U.S. District Court for D.C., granted an injunction, allowing new app…

Google Will Ban Election-Related Ads After the Polls Close on Nov. 3

The Nov. 3 election is only weeks away and tech platforms are still tinkering with their policies on taking political ad dollars. Google told advertisers Friday that it will not allow election-related ads to run on any of its platforms after the polls close nationwide. Google spokesperson Charlotte Smith confirmed the decision to Adweek after…

Pew Research Center: Most US Adults Don’t Think Social Networks Should Allow Political Ads

A new study from Pew Research Center found that 54% of adults in the U.S. believe social media companies should not allow political ads, while 77% believe those platforms’ use of data about their online activities to show them political ads is not very or not at all acceptable. On the flip side, 45% of…

This Site Records Your Chants So You Can Protest From Home

As social justice protests continue across the U.S., some people cannot or choose not to participate because of Covid-19. While there many ways to contribute to movements like Black Lives Matter, those who literally want their voice to be heard on the streets can make use of Say It With Me, a tool that lets…

YouTube Provides More Information When Users Search Election-Related Topics

YouTube rolled out additional information panels to be displayed when people search for information related to the 2020 presidential election. Users searching for 2020 presidential or federal congressional candidates will see an information panel with details about those candidates above their search results. Searches for specific queries related to voter registration will see an information…

Facebook Provides Update on Safeguarding Elections in Myanmar

The general election in Myanmar is set for Sunday, Nov. 8, and Facebook provided details this week on extra steps it is taking to ensure the integrity of the election on its platform. Content identified as potential hate speech by the social network’s proactive detection technology will see its distribution significantly reduced, and it will…

Bumble Bee Tuna Effortlessly Brushes Off Trump Comments About Its Cans Being Anti-Police Weapons

The hovering dread of a presidential comment about your brand isn’t something that really existed before 2017, but it’s certainly been a common concern for marketing managers ever since. From Amazon and Boeing to Nordstrom and Toyota, Trump has often targeted brands via his tweets or public comments when he’s unhappy with their leadership, corporate…

You Can’t Vote If You’re Not Registered, Austin Agency Reminds Texans

Amid the clutter of news, advertising and communication about the upcoming election, there is one crucial step that isn’t necessarily being explicitly addressed: One must be registered to vote in the first place. Sure, it’s nice to talk about voting, but without taking care of that piece of business, the messages are rendered moot. Down…

Twitter Sets Big Push for National Voter Registration Day

Twitter has big plans for National Voter Registration Day Tuesday. Public policy director Bridget Coyne said in a blog post, “Today, we’re rolling out new tools and in-application experiences that will put voter registration resources at the public’s fingertips and support the essential voter registration efforts happening across the country.” Every U.S. Twitter user will…

Facebook: How to View the Voting Information Center

Facebook added a Voting Information Center to Instagram and the flagship Facebook mobile application in August. Users can visit this menu to check their voter registration status, learn about registering to vote and more. Our guide will show you how to access the Voting Information Center in the Facebook app. Note: These screenshots were captured…

Telemundo Gears Up for National Voter Registration Day

Roughly 3.6 million Hispanics in the U.S. will turn 18 during this election season and become eligible to vote, and Telemundo is marking National Voter Registration Day Tuesday with a national, multiplatform campaign aimed at giving them all the necessary information and motivation to do so. Telemundo said 2020 marks the first general election in…

WeChat Downloads Soared This Weekend Ahead of Potential Ban

On Friday, TikTok and WeChat stared down a frightening future in the United States. After Sunday, their respective apps would could no longer be downloaded in major app marketplaces. Even worse for WeChat, a messaging and social media app with a relatively small user base in America that’s seen as an invaluable link to mainland…

Instagram: How to View the Voting Information Center

Facebook rolled out a Voting Information Center in the flagship Facebook application and Instagram in August. Users can visit this menu to learn how to register to vote, learn about voting by mail and more. Our guide will show you how to access the Voting Information Center in the Instagram app. Note: These screenshots were…

Facebook Continues Its Voter Registration Push

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in June that the social network’s goal was to register 4 million voters prior to November’s presidential election in the U.S. The company said Monday, on the eve of National Voter Registration Day, that it was up to 2.5 million, and it outlined steps it is taking to meet its…

Trump Says He Has Given the TikTok Deal His ‘Blessing’

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has given TikTok’s deal his “blessing,” saying he “conceptually” approved the agreement, which would see TikTok partner with Oracle, Walmart and other investors to become a U.S. company, spun off from owners ByteDance. The administration previously indicated that ByteDance will spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations as a new…

TikTok Says Advertising Won’t Be Illegal Under Trump’s ‘Ban’

Americans will no longer be allowed to download or update TikTok through major app stores after Sunday, but it’s not the end of the world (so far) for advertisers on the platform. While President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August that made “transactions” illegal with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, the Commerce Department–tasked with…

Twitter: How to Use the 2020 U.S. Election Hub

Twitter debuted its 2020 U.S. Election Hub this week, allowing users to read news articles, view Twitter Moments related to the election, learn about registering to vote and more. Our guide will show you how to find the U.S. Election Hub in the Twitter mobile application. Note: These screenshots were captured in the Twitter app…

Trump Bans New TikTok Downloads, but Extends Sale Deadline

Americans will be unable to download TikTok on mobile devices through American app marketplaces after Sunday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced today. However, the administration extended its earliest deadline for ByteDance to sell the popular social video app to Nov. 12. Ross, who also took action against Tencent-owned messaging app WeChat, said the decision was…

Twitter Adds New Security Measures for High-Profile Election-Related Accounts

Twitter continues to take steps to fortify its platform with November’s U.S. presidential election in mind, and its latest security addition is aimed at high-profile, election-related accounts. The social network said the types of accounts impacted by the new security measures are: Executive Branch Congress Governors Secretaries of state Presidential campaigns Political parties Candidates with…