Pressure mounts on Facebook to release campaign ads bought by Russia
Source: Yahoo News
WASHINGTON A campaign finance reform group, accusing Facebook of being used as an accomplice in a Russian influence scheme, is calling on company chairman Mark Zuckerberg to reverse his position and publicly release secretly-sponsored Russian political ads that ran on its platform during last years presidential election.
Facebook was secretly paid to host illegal political ads as part of an illegal foreign influence effort, said the letter to Zuckerberg from Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
We are not aware of any federal law that would prohibit Facebook from making these ads public, the letter to Zuckerberg continued. By hosting these secretly-sponsored Russian political ads, Facebook appears to have been used as an accomplice in a foreign governments effort to undermine democratic self-governance in the United States. Therefore, we ask you, as the head of a company that has used its platform to promote democratic engagement, to be transparent about how foreign actors used that same platform to undermine our democracy.
Asked for comment, a Facebook spokesman said late Tuesday: Federal law and ongoing investigations limit what we can share publicly.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/pressure-mounts-facebook-release-campaign-ads-bought-russia-182538389.html
More confirmation that Facebook is caught up in Mueller's investigation of Russian influence on the election.
Also, the Campaign Legal Center says that internet providers are not exempt from laws that required paid political ads to state the names of their sponsors.
Biggity
(6 posts)Good! If FB (I'll reserve my opinion on 'social media' for another time/thread) is in ANY way able to lend a hand in the righteous demise of the orange beast, they NEED to fork over that info!
Also: Hello. Hi. Hi there. Didn't see an introductions thread. (?)
pnwmom
(108,952 posts)I don't think we have a special introductions thread. Starting anywhere is fine.
Thanks for the welcome.
A couple questions: Why have I got to enter a "reply title" in a given topic/thread? Unfamiliar with this setup. Seems redundant.
Also, I've got to use an existing image from the site for my avatar? Not able to insert one of my own?
pnwmom
(108,952 posts)And it you follow it with n/t, that tells people there's no message to follow.
So the "reply title" is usually only used for longer posts . . . or if you want to break up the post, deliberately. In that case you start the post in the "reply title" box, and end it in the "message text" box.
But no one really cares as long as you can't stand the orange creep.
I don't know the answer to your avatar question, but next time you see someone with an avatar, you should ask!
....I see. Thanks so much! I've not seen a forum with this particular format/viewing method ("viewing method", ugh...what a friggin Luddite) so it's a bit odd for me.
"Orange creep", eh? Meh, a 'creep' could easily describe Benny Hill, John Waters, and my Aunt Gloria - all folks that I personally admire.
The drumpf is much more of a slimebag. A monstrous, salacious, repugnant, incestuous slimebag. I'm a native NYer; we've been hip to his brand of filth for decades. He sure fooled heaps of red state racists and their grimy ilk, though.
Kleveland
(1,257 posts)[link:|
Hey, I figured out the pic/gif thing! I'm very accustomed to doing the 'save image' followed by plucking it from my folder. Huh, no shit.
Judi Lynn
(160,415 posts)So much finer looking than the giant human turtle, Mitch McConnell!
Ford_Prefect
(7,867 posts)Why hasn't there been more about that possibility? Or was their vote in line with expectations?
FailureToCommunicate
(14,006 posts)Just like Russia did across Europe.
pnwmom
(108,952 posts)FakeNoose
(32,552 posts)...so why do they keep coming here to the US?
Why do they keep trying to buy US real estate? They come here and have anchor babies so their kids get US citizenship.
Then they turn around and start all this anti-immigration BS like it's something that benefits THEM.
Doesn't make sense. What's their angle? If we really do kick out the immigrants, Russians should be the FIRST to go.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,006 posts)a massive refugee crisis coming out of various war-torn regions especially Syria. This added to a backlash of regional nationalism and the beginnings of breakup of the once powerful Nato/Western Europe alliances. Look at Brexit. A weakened West makes Russia more powerful, and the quiet coup installing Trump is just the most recent chapter.
Allowing Russian oligarchs to launder millions thru real estate here just helps Putin and his pals.
DeminPennswoods
(15,265 posts)to emerge sooner rather than later.