Columbia Journalism Review: Who is right about political ads, Twitter or Facebook? . “As the 2020 federal election draws closer, the issue of online political advertising is becoming more important, and the differences in how the platforms are approaching it are more obvious. Twitter has chosen to ban political advertising, but questions remain about how it plans to define that term, and whether banning ads will do more harm than good. Meanwhile, Facebook has gone in the opposite direction, saying it will not even fact-check political ads. So whose strategy is the best, Twitter’s or Facebook’s?”
banned content
BBC: Facebook blocks the Spinner’s ‘brainwashing’ tech
BBC: Facebook blocks the Spinner’s ‘brainwashing’ tech. “Facebook has issued a cease and desist notice to an Israeli firm that claims to be able to subconsciously alter people’s behaviour. The Spinner charges a fee to ‘subconsciously influence’ targets by exposing them to online posts ‘disguised as editorial content’. But Facebook has objected to the start-up using its services to achieve this.”
BBC: Turkey’s Wikipedia ban ends after almost three years
BBC: Turkey’s Wikipedia ban ends after almost three years. “Turkey is restoring access to Wikipedia after a ban that lasted almost three years. The country’s Constitutional Court ruled that the ban violated freedom of expression, the pro-government newspaper Milliyet reported.”
The New York Times: While Shuttered at Home, China Exploits Social Media Abroad
The New York Times: While Shuttered at Home, China Exploits Social Media Abroad. “China says its diplomats and government officials will fully exploit foreign social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter that are blocked off to its own citizens.”
SBS: Algeria to outlaw hate speech on social media
SBS: Algeria to outlaw hate speech on social media. “The president of protest-hit Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, plans to outlaw ‘hate speech’ that has proliferated on social networks in recent months, his office said Monday. Mr Tebboune asked Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad to draft a bill ‘criminalising all forms of racism and hate speech in the country,’ according to a statement published by the official APS press agency.”
CNN: Instagram says it’s removing posts supporting Soleimani to comply with US sanctions
CNN: Instagram says it’s removing posts supporting Soleimani to comply with US sanctions. “Instagram and its parent company Facebook are removing posts that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani to comply with US sanctions, a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business Friday.”
The Brookings Institution: Twitter’s ban on political advertisements hurts our democracy
The Brookings Institution: Twitter’s ban on political advertisements hurts our democracy. “Even if social media companies could successfully define electioneering advertisements, the benefits of such a policy are unclear. Rather than being a well-thought policy, the decision seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to the criticisms about the role of the social media in politics.”
