Gizmodo: Google Releases Political Ad Database and Trump Is the Big Winner. “Google has finally opened up about political ad-spending on its platforms and published a living archive of who’s paying what for your eyeballs while you’re just trying to consume some content. As we head into the heart of the midterm elections, Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign is outspending everyone.”
elections
Times of India: Russia slams social media expert’s claim that it may target Indian polls
Times of India: Russia slams social media expert’s claim that it may target Indian polls . “Russia today dismissed as ‘false’ a social media expert’s claim that Moscow may interfere in elections in countries such as India through their media and said it will never act against Indian interests.”
Politico: Facebook suspends ‘inauthentic’ accounts, sees Russia link
Politico: Facebook suspends ‘inauthentic’ accounts, sees Russia link. “Facebook shut down more than two dozen ‘inauthentic’ accounts and pages on Tuesday that sought to inflame social and political tensions in the United States, and said their activity was similar — and in some cases connected — to that of Russian accounts during the 2016 election.”
Quartz: Zimbabwe’s politicians are fighting a vicious battle against fake news and each other
Quartz: Zimbabwe’s politicians are fighting a vicious battle against fake news and each other. “Zimbabwe’s political parties are winding down their campaigns ahead of elections on Monday (Jul. 30) to pick the first new administration since the ousting of former president Robert Mugabe in November. But as well as battling each other in the run-up to a historic election, politicians and party officials have been fighting the spread of disinformation, so-called fake news, through social media.”
Reuters: Facebook removes pages of Brazil activist network before elections
Reuters: Facebook removes pages of Brazil activist network before elections. “Facebook Inc (FB.O) on Wednesday took down a network of pages and accounts used by a right-wing Brazilian activist group, cracking down on what it called a misinformation network ahead of elections in October.”
The Next Web: Cloudflare launches free protection for election websites
The Next Web: Cloudflare launches free protection for election websites. “Cloudflare has launched a new initiative, called the Athenian Project, to protect electoral websites from online attacks. The service is available free of charge to state and local governments, and offers Cloudflare’s enterprise-level security and reliability services.”
TechCrunch: Twitter is holding off on fixing verification policy to focus on election integrity
TechCrunch: Twitter is holding off on fixing verification policy to focus on election integrity . “Twitter is pausing its work on overhauling its verification process, which provides a blue checkmark to public figures, in favor of election integrity, Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour tweeted today. That’s because, as we enter another election season, ‘updating our verification program isn’t a top priority for us right now (election integrity is),’ he wrote on Twitter this afternoon.”
