… In the United States, and across the world, any protester who brings a phone to a public demonstration is tracked and that person’s presence at the event is duly recorded in commercial datasets. At the same time, political parties are beginning to collect and purchase phone location for voter […] Read more »
U.S. has changed in key ways in the past decade, from tech use to demographics
The past decade in the United States has seen technological advancements, demographic shifts and major changes in public opinion. Pew Research Center has tracked these developments through surveys, demographic analyses and other research. As the 2010s draw to a close, here are key ways the country looks different from 10 […] Read more »
Tow Center investigation: ‘Pink slime’ local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points
An increasingly popular tactic challenges conventional wisdom on the spread of electoral disinformation: the creation of partisan outlets masquerading as local news organizations. An investigation by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School has discovered at least 450 websites in a network of local and business news […] Read more »
These Reporters Rely on Public Data, Rather Than Secret Sources
Leaked documents and interviews with whistle-blowing sources will always be a part of investigative journalism. But thanks to the rise of digital technology, and the easy availability of data that has gone with it, reporters have more ways to get stories than ever before. … With its emphasis on raw […] Read more »
A Former Fox News Executive Divides Americans Using Russian Tactics
At first glance, the websites Conservative Edition News and Liberal Edition News have only one thing in common: Both have been carefully curated to inflame America’s culture wars. … The sites are the work of Ken LaCorte, the former Fox News executive who was accused of killing a story about […] 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 »