Social Media Skips To The Easy Part, Jokes Follow

Michael Hedges November 25, 2019 Follow on Twitter

Much in the post-modern age is shifting. That is a feature, not a bug. Some, adhering to Orwellian logic, admit the post-truth era has arrived. Get over it, they say. Only a fool would build a house on shifting sand, say the ages.

It has been a wild time for political advertising, particularly the sort distributed through social media. The giants of that universe, at once informing and misinforming the world, are paralyzed by their creations, unable to harness the weight of those shifting sands. They are determined to avoid anything that might unsettle the business model.

A full ban on political advertising worldwide was announced by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the end of October. “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” he said, now famously. “We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally.”

The ban came into effect this past week (November 22), barely in time for the next UK general election, and, unsurprisingly, the details are a bit more nuanced. Paid political content from candidates and political parties are not allowed. “We define political content as content that references a candidate, political party, elected or appointed government official, election, referendum, ballot measure, legislation, regulation, directive, or judicial outcome,” said the company statement. Also off are “ads that contain references to political content, including appeals for votes, solicitations of financial support, and advocacy for or against any of the above-listed types of political content, are prohibited under this policy.”

Allowed on Twitter are “ads that educate, raise awareness, and/or call for people to take action in connection with civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or social equity causes.” This “cause-based” messaging, however, cannot be micro-targeted. “Keyword and interest targeting may not include terms associated with political content, prohibited advertisers, or political leanings or affiliations.”

Feeling the hot, dry sirocco winds across the sand, Facebook made several pronouncements in recent weeks regarding political ads and messaging. They would not be fact-checking political ads because that would be illegal, said one executive. US law prohibits licensed broadcasters from refusing any political speech; alas, there is no such regulation of social media. Another Facebook walked-back the statement. Fake news - or political ads - are welcome on Facebook.

Then micro-targeting rose in the rankings. Facebook, according the the Wall Street Journal (November 21), is “considering” no longer allowing political advertisers to target highly specific targets, moving the minimum from a few hundred to “a few thousand.” As usual, the company is offering “more tools” for advertisers to control targeting. Tools mean bots.

Not to be forgotten, Google (owner of YouTube and subsidiary of Alphabet), is limiting political ad micro-targeting to age, gender and geography. All the other data that has made social media the place to go for all advertisers - from product preference to political affiliation - will not be an option for political candidates or campaigns. For Google, political advertisers must be verified as, well, real rather than foreign invaders.

Micro-targeting is only part of the political ad mix. In the broader context, it is far less significant than inflammatory language, misinformation, outright fabrication and hate speech. Social media providers, fearing extremist spasms, are anxious.

Critics of social media platforms response to political hate speech and propaganda are not holding back. “If Facebook were around in the 1930s, it would have allowed Hitler to post 30-second ads on his 'solution' to the 'Jewish problem,’" said British actor/comedian Sasha Baron Cohen as he accepted the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) International Leadership Award, quoted by AFP (November 23). ADL is an international Jewish NGO active in opposing anti-Semitism and racism. He referred to the social media platforms as “the greatest propaganda machine in history.”

He concluded: “If we prioritize truth over lies, tolerance over prejudice, empathy over indifference and experts over ignoramuses, then maybe, just maybe, we can stop the greatest propaganda machine in history, we can save democracy, we can still have a place for free speech and free expression, and, most importantly, my jokes will still work.”

See also...

• Hot Topics - Elections and Media

• Hot Topics - Fake News

• Hot Topics - Propaganda

• Hot Topics - Social Media

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