Facebook tried to regulate political ads. It's actually regulating the news.
When Russian memes overtook actual political ads during the 2016 election season, Facebook knew it had a problem. But its solution isn't making things any better.
At the end of May, Facebook unveiled its automated system that flags political ads and requires their makers to authenticate their identities. The system also labels who created an ad and stores that information in a searchable database.
But ProPublica has been monitoring Facebook political ads since September, and what it's found hasn't exactly been uplifting. In just a few weeks, ProPublica has documented several cases where non-political ads were marked as "electoral" or "issue" messages. Many of those misdirected flags hit news stories on one of the broad national issues Facebook is sweeping ads for, including crime, health, and education. Meanwhile, ads from Democratic senators and advocacy groups on both sides of the aisle haven't been scooped up.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many news organizations that have fallen victim to Facebook's tracker have opted not to run ads until it's fixed, ProPublica reports. The New York Times' CEO even publicly detailed his concern that Facebook is getting news all wrong.
Facebook's defense? “Enforcement is never perfect at launch,” the company told ProPublica. Read more about the Facebook project at ProPublica.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York may seize Trump's assets for $450M penalty
Speed Read The former president likely owes $600 million from two civil judgments in New York
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published