Four senior senators have called on the largest U.S. voting machine makers to explain why they continue to sell devices with “known vulnerabilities,” ahead of upcoming critical elections. The letter, sent Wednesday, calls on election equipment makers ES&S, Dominion Voting, and Hart InterCivic to explain why they continue to sell decades-old machines, which the senators […]
View More Senators demand to know why election vendors still sell voting machines with ‘known’ vulnerabilities’Category: Elections
Google ups its anti-fake news game ahead of EU elections
As a company with a popular online service for just about everything, from e-mail to productivity to maps, Google is in a unique position when it comes to fighting fake news.
On Tuesday, the company shared an update about its efforts to combat disinformation, fake news and abuse ahead of upcoming European Parliament elections, due this May.
In the post, Google shares some examples of just how far online abuse can go when it comes to snatching votes — or stopping the other party from getting them. Besides plain old fake news, these include state-sponsored phishing attacks and “attempts to alter Maps so people can’t find their polling station.” Read more…
More about Google, Elections, Eu, Fake News, and Tech
View More Google ups its anti-fake news game ahead of EU electionsAs Clegg appears in Brussels, Facebook tightens controls on political ads, opens Dublin control center ahead of European elections
Facebook continues to feel the heat over its role in how people communicate — and more importantly, miscommunicate — globally, so today in Europe it redoubled its efforts to counter critics by rolling out new controls specifically around election misinformation ahead of European Parliament elections this spring. It unveiled its latest efforts to fight “fake […]
View More As Clegg appears in Brussels, Facebook tightens controls on political ads, opens Dublin control center ahead of European electionsThe midterms had record voter turnout. Should Snapchat get credit?
My partner’s arms are longer than mine, so, on election day this year, I made him take the #IVoted selfie.
Now, I’m not one for selfies, usually. But I decided to share my act of civic participation on social media earlier this month for two re…
Facebook’s former security chief stands up for the social network, calls for change
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885094%2F2ff0c0d1-3b6f-49b9-ba29-143e64de7b1e.jpg)
Facebook’s former chief security officer is defending the social network amid the fallout from the New York Times’ bombshell report on the company this past week.
Alex Stamos, who was the company’s CSO from 2015 up until the summer of 2018, wrote a piece published in the Washington Post on Saturday responding to the New York Times report. Stamos attempted to dispel the Times’ report claiming that Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, fearing blowback, delayed taking action following his team’s discovery of Russian interference in the 2016 election via a misinformation campaign on the platform. Read more…
More about Facebook, Russia, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Elections
View More Facebook’s former security chief stands up for the social network, calls for changeHow an app developer helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez make history
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F880585%2F24a2e71a-b688-4643-bc2c-26bd65645b2b.jpg)
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, app developer Leo Sussan was unhappy and looking for a way to become more politically active. So he volunteered for a long-shot congressional candidate, 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in New York City.
Since he was a full-time employee at a real estate startup, Sussan offered his programming skills to the campaign during his off-hours. The app he and his small team created, Reach, reimagined the way volunteers found other sympathetic voters — and ultimately helped get Ocasio-Cortez elected.
Historically, political campaigns have reached voters through a process called “canvassing,” or making direct contact with people door-to-door. Apps typically facilitated this process by giving volunteers in the field an easy way to access a list of voters compiled by the Democratic Party. Read more…
More about Apps, Campaigning, Elections, Progressive, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
View More How an app developer helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez make historyYouth voter turnout spiked during the midterms. Now what?
When making sense of the youth voter turnout in the 2018 midterm elections, there’s good news, bad news, and some more good news.
Early estimates show young people voted at historic rates. About 31 percent of people aged 18 to 29 voted in the m…
How to stream U.S. elections coverage if you don’t have TV
You don’t need a TV to tune in to live coverage of the U.S. elections results today – and you don’t have to have Hulu or another live TV streaming service, either. Today, YouTube announced a list of news organizations that will be broadcasting live elections coverage on its site today – helpful for those who […]
View More How to stream U.S. elections coverage if you don’t have TVHow to stream U.S. elections coverage if you don’t have TV
You don’t need a TV to tune in to live coverage of the U.S. elections results today – and you don’t have to have Hulu or another live TV streaming service, either. Today, YouTube announced a list of news organizations that will be broadcasting live elections coverage on its site today – helpful for those who […]
View More How to stream U.S. elections coverage if you don’t have TVFacebook blocks 115 accounts for ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F877971%2F307aeddb-d66f-43e2-af4e-27bfc5d81009.jpg)
Facebook has taken action against a number of Facebook and Instagram accounts which appear to be spreading fake news days ahead of the midterm U.S. elections.
In a blog post published Monday, the company said it blocked a total of 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts which “may be engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
Facebook defines this term as follows: “This is when people or organizations create networks of accounts to mislead others about who they are, or what they’re doing.”
It was the U.S. law enforcement that warned Facebook about these accounts. According to Facebook, all of the Pages associated with the accounts are in French or Russian, while the Instagram accounts have been “mostly” in English. The accounts focused on celebrities or political debate. Read more…
More about Facebook, Elections, Fake News, Tech, and Social Media Companies
View More Facebook blocks 115 accounts for ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’Apple News will launch a real-time election results hub on November 6
Apple is preparing to launch a new way for its customers to track election results. At 8 PM ET on November 6, the company will swap out the existing Midterm Elections section in the Apple News app and replace it with a new Election Night section instead. This section will also replace Apple News’ Digest […]
View More Apple News will launch a real-time election results hub on November 6As elections loom, companies weigh the benefits of civic time off
With the mid-term elections looming, the pressure across all parties and organizations to get people to the polls is more prevalent than ever before. Yet, as the number of eligible voters increases, we continue to see some of the lowest voter turnout in our nation’s history, with only half of eligible voters showing up to the polls in the 2014 election.
View More As elections loom, companies weigh the benefits of civic time off