We live in a political era of incredible volatility and mind-numbing predictability. For only the third time in American history, a president is about to be impeached. Even so, Americans aren’t particularly captivated by a story in which they already know the ending. … As such, the fact that Trump […] Read more »
Why Bloomberg’s Money is Unlikely to Impact the Race
If you have read what political scientists have to say about the relationship between campaign contributions and elections, you probably know that the answer is “it’s complicated.” But with presidential nominations, it is especially unlikely that having the most campaign money will matter. When billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced that he […] Read more »
Getting rid of microtargeting in political advertising is a terrible idea
Jack Dorsey, chief executive of Twitter, unleashed a frenzy of commentary when he went Pontius Pilate and effectively washed his hands of the false advertising problem online by announcing his platform would no longer take political ads. But perhaps the most alarming reaction came from Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen […] Read more »
The Real Reason Facebook Won’t Fact-Check Political Ads
… If Facebook’s leaders were willing to level with us, they would stop defending themselves by appealing to lofty values like free speech. They would focus instead on more practical realities: Facebook is incapable of vetting political ads effectively and consistently at the global scale. … We should know better […] Read more »
They Know What You Watched Last Night
A spate of streaming services are on their way from major tech and entertainment companies, promising viewers a trove of binge-worthy new shows and movies. There’s something for advertisers, too: your personal data. Recent deals involving the media conglomerate AT&T, the streaming device seller Roku, the advertising giant Publicis and […] Read more »
Trump Campaign Floods Web With Ads, Raking In Cash as Democrats Struggle
On any given day, the Trump campaign is plastering ads all over Facebook, YouTube and the millions of sites served by Google, hitting the kind of incendiary themes — immigrant invaders, the corrupt media — that play best on platforms where algorithms favor outrage and political campaigns are free to […] Read more »