Tag Archives: election

People linked to Russian-backed Facebook accounts helped organize or fund events in the US around divisive topics — often playing both sides of a hot-button issue, according to The Wall Street Journal.  The WSJ cited an example in July, when a Russia-based firm organized two events on the same day. The first was a “Blue …

Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Donald Trump, has been suspended by Twitter after lashing out at CNN anchor Don Lemon on Friday. The suspension came after Stone went on a Twitter rant, calling Lemon a “dumb piece of shit” after CNN reported an indictment had been filed in an investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Twitter …

When you google something, it’s not always clear if the answer that emerges is real or fake. This is something Google has grappled with over the past year as it tries to get a handle on viral propaganda and internet hoaxes. To battle the phenomenon of “fake news,” Google said Thursday that it’s partnering with the International Fact-Checking Network at …

Some US senators are looking to beef up laws around political ads that appear online, given apparent Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. It’s largely believed the election was at least partially swayed by bogus political ads on Facebook, Twitter and Google. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are teaming up with Republican Sen. …

Google released on Tuesday a new security feature specifically for people with Google accounts who are at higher-than-normal risk of getting hacked. The Advanced Protection Program was created for folks like campaign staffers preparing for an upcoming election, journalists needing to protect confidential sources and people in abusive relationships who are seeking safety.  Google took the unusual step of creating a …

A researcher was still combing through Facebook posts from Russia-affiliated accounts when the social networking company deleted them from the public record.  That’s according to The Washington Post, which reported Thursday that analyst Jonathan Albright had downloaded posts from six of the Facebook pages before learning information from all 470 accounts was no longer publicly available. Albright told the Post …

It’s not just Facebook, Twitter and Google. Even Pokemon Go, the mega-popular smartphone game that became a phenomenon last year, was the target of Russian agents trying to meddle with the 2016 US election, according to a report Thursday by CNN. The effort was allegedly centered on a campaign called “Don’t Shoot Us,” an apparent reference “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” …

Congressional leaders say they plan to publicly release thousands of politically divisive Facebook ads purchased by Russian-linked operatives during the 2016 US presidential election. Representatives Mike Conaway and Adam Schiff, leaders of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation, said Wednesday that they were working with the company to release the ads publicly after meeting with Facebook chief …

Facebook removed all references to Russia from a public report in April concerning manipulation of its platform during the 2016 presidential election, according to a The Wall Street Journal report Thursday. Mentions of Russia were eliminated due to concerns among Facebook’s lawyers and members of its policy team that the company’s understanding of Russian activity was too speculative, the newspaper …

When it came to interference with the 2016 election, tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google “did not take this threat seriously enough,” Democratic Sen. Mark Warner told reporters at a press conference at the US Capitol on Wednesday. Warner and Republican Sen. Richard Burr addressed reporters to give an update on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into allegations of …