This list got completely out of hand this time, so I’ll try to do these weekly until the election. Note: I included only a sampling of the available “public figure posts horrible thing on social media” stories, so multiply each of the many below by several.
- Don’t do this: Broward Court Clerk Brenda Forman, running for reelection, posts quote erroneously attributed to Hitler on her Facebook page.
- Don’t do this, either: Two GOP senators post photos of Elijah Cummings instead of John Lewis on social media.
- Facebook begins labeling, but not fact-checking, posts from Trump and Biden.
- Trump campaign says ‘TikTok is spying on you’ in new Facebook ads. Meta.
- Ivanka Trump says she had ‘every right’ to promote Goya Foods products on social media.
- Trump campaign demotes Brad Parscale, who famously led its Facebook political ad blitz in 2016. Prior to this, Parscale described how Trump is beating Biden on the most important factor in this campaign.
- Conservative (social) media helps Trump perform ‘law and order’ in Portland, with risks for November.
- Biden campaign asks Twitter, Facebook to remove Trump posts bashing mail-in voting. Meanwhile, Biden and Obama troll Trump in video that marks a new pandemic campaign tactic.
- Potential For Texting Crackdown Looms Large Over 2020. Peer-to-peer in danger?
- The Trump campaign app is tapping a “gold mine” of data about Americans. C.f. “A data-hungry channel for disproven claims”, though I doubt their bold claim that apps are the new Facebook (for voter contact) — apps only reach the people who download them. Via Eric Wilson.
- Corporate giants shut down Trump texting program, b/c spam.
- Biden campaign grows digital operation to contend with virtual trail.
- China, Iran targeting presidential campaigns with hacking attempts, Google announces.
- A new algorithm could catch social-media trolls as they try to influence US elections. Researchers are offering it for free.. “In each test, the model identified a majority of posts and accounts involved in disinformation campaigns, even when those accounts were brand-new.”
- How to combat online voter suppression. C.f. How Knowing Your Online Turf Can Help Stop the Spread of Disinformation.
- The conservative alternative to Twitter wants to be a place for free speech for all. It turns out, rules still apply..
- Tech billionaires are plotting sweeping, secret plans to boost Joe Biden. Potentially helpful, or vanity projects? C.f. The Chase For Political Tech Startup Funding Shows the Market’s Limitations.
- COVID Effect Digest: Six Lessons From The Advocacy Boom.
- Facebook spends big on lobbying as key hearing nears.
- Bowing to pressure, Facebook will start labeling violating posts from politicians. But critics say it’s not enough.
- The Potential Fallout from a Facebook Political Ad Blackout. Excellent observations about a terrible idea. C.f. Where Will Campaigns Turn If Facebook Goes Dark on Political Ads?
- Climate Denial Spreads on Facebook as Scientists Face Restrictions.
- Democratic bills aim at cracking down on targeted political ads on Facebook and Google. You can guess what I think.
- Facebook Still Doesn’t Get It. Color of Change executive director: “It is that all of these platforms, if left to their own devices, will rely on the wrong set of incentive structures because profit and growth are key drivers to why they exist.”
- Zuckerberg once wanted to sanction Trump. Then Facebook wrote rules that accommodated him. Also: What’s Facebook’s Deal With Donald Trump? “Mark Zuckerberg has forged an uneasy alliance with the Trump administration. He may have gotten too close”.
- Facebook met with civil rights groups after hundreds of companies joined ad boycott, but Facebook’s own civil rights auditors say its policy decisions are a ‘tremendous setback’.
- Facebook is working to persuade advertisers to abandon their boycott. So far, they aren’t impressed.
- Black women say Pinterest created a den of discrimination — despite its image as the nicest company in tech.
- Illiberalism Isn’t to Blame for the Death of Good-Faith Debate. “Political discourse has been warped less because of “cancel culture” or “illiberalism” than by the way social media platforms have been poisoned, like wells, that poison us in turn.”
- TikTok Teens Are Obsessed With Pizzagate.
- Google penalizes right-wing sites over ‘derogatory content’.
- ‘Carnage,’ ‘radicals,’ ‘overthrow the government’: How Fox and other conservative media covered the protests.
- Trump’s Twitter feed reads like a local crime blotter as he stokes a culture war.
- As protests spread to small-town America, militia groups respond with armed intimidation and online threats. Openly intimidating their neighbors, including online, with help. “[Protesters] said they were skeptical the authorities would take their side, pointing to numerous examples of local officials appearing to encourage the armed response to protests.”
- Militias flocked to Gettysburg to foil a supposed antifa flag burning, an apparent hoax created on social media. And, here’s the guy who fooled them.
- Silicon Valley’s inconsistent crackdown on Trump’s rhetoric could help more than it hurts him.
- It’s not just your feed. Political content has taken over Instagram, driven by Black Lives Matter.
- Blackout Tuesday posts [were] drowning out vital information shared under the BLM hashtag. Note: Your Black Square Instagram Isn’t Helping.
- In China, U.S. protests a hot topic on state, social media.
- Record cash floods Democrats, Black groups amid protests and pandemic. Not surprisingly, During the protests, ActBlue was breaking donation records.
- WinRed has transformed GOP fundraising in the last year.
- Creating Authenticity In Your Digital Fundraising Program. If you can fake THAT….
- George W. Bush to host virtual fundraiser for Republican senators.
- Facebook deactivates accounts of Tunisian political bloggers and activists. On the plus side, Facebook closes network of accounts and pages affiliated with Roger Stone for manipulation.
- Twitter labels Trump video tweet as manipulated media as it cracks down on misinformation [mid-June].
- Russian disinformation operation relied on forgeries, fake posts on 300 platforms, new report says.
- Facebook takes down Trump ads ‘for violating our policy against organized hate’, as Facebook And Twitter Remove ‘Racist Baby’ Video Posted By President Trump [mid-June].
- Ignorance? Or is someone snickering quietly: “In its online salvo against antifa and ‘far-left mobs,’ President Trump’s reelection campaign is displaying a marking once used by the Nazis to designate political prisoners in concentration camps.” Next: Facebook says it took down Trump ads because they used Nazi symbol.
- Facebook employees blast Zuckerberg’s hands-off response to Trump posts as protests grip nation [early June].
- Just an average day in America.
- Twitter labels Trump’s tweets with a fact check for the first time [late May].
- Widower of Joe Scarborough staffer seeks removal of Trump tweets that promote baseless conspiracy theory [late May].
- What a Better Social Network Would Look Like.
- Facebook has a huge truth problem. A high-priced ‘oversight board’ won’t fix it.
- House Republican leaders condemn GOP candidate who made racist videos.
- Trump Promotes Video That Opens With ‘The Only Good Democrat is a Dead Democrat’ [late May]. C.f. Facebook Let a Georgia Candidate Run an Ad That Called Guns ‘Liberty Machines’ Against ‘Looting Hordes’.
- New study reveals extent of hate speech on Reddit in right-leaning forums, as Reddit closes long-running forum supporting President Trump after years of policy violations.
- Online content moderation lessons from outside the US.
- 42% of Facebook Employees Are Concerned About Advertisers Pulling Ads Off Of The Platform.
- Snap says it is no longer promoting Trump’s account, adding to social media backlash against president.
- I’m a female journalist in the Middle East. I won’t be silenced by online attacks..
- Mexico is a deadly place to be a journalist but sophisticated bot attacks are increasing the danger.
- Google dominates online ads — and DOJ may be ready to pounce.
- An Elite Progressive LISTSERV Melts Down Over a Bogus Racism Charge.
- A totalitarian surveillance city in China should be a warning to us all.
- Did TikTokers and K-pop fans foil Trump’s Tulsa rally? It’s complicated. C.f. Forget the rally — TikTok and K-pop fans will cost Trump money.
- Social Media Marketers Up Their Use of Instagram Video; Few Plan to Use TikTok For Now.
- How to Ask for Money During a Crisis.
- These Are the Top Goals and Challenges Involved in Programmatic Ad-Buying.
- Case Study: The Impact of One-Click Donation Forms on Email Fundraising.
- Nonprofit Email Newsletters: 5 Optimization Strategies.
- 3 Ways to Take Advantage of Texting for Your Nonprofit.
- WhatsApp is Not Email. Do Not Manage Your Business With Messages.
- Emojis in Email Subject Lines: Advantage or Impediment?. Hint: They may backfire.
- 26 Real Ways to Increase Engagement in Your Email Newsletter.
- Omni-Channel Marketing: Here’s Why It Matters.
- Here’s How Marketers Are Using Location Data.
- 5 Tips to Grow Your Organization’s Instagram Like A Boss.
- The power of the petition.
- Digital Doesn’t Work Without Creative People.
Too much is never enough? Check out previous Quick Hits editions.
– cpd