Elizabeth Warren @ewarren Refusing to catalogue paid political ads because the Bloomberg campaign

[BeckyDem]

Link to tweet

Warren 2020!!!

[left-of-center2012]

1. Huh?

What does that mean?

[TwilightZone]

4. No, it's specifically related to Facebook ads.

See my response below.

[TwilightZone]

3. I don't think she knows how this works.

Facebook has sponsored ads. They don't get paid unless sponsored ads are boosted (meaning someone pays to put them at the top of feeds, in prominent places, etc.). Only boosted ads go in the Ad Library, so the fact they won't put non-boosted ads there fits their normal policy.

The article linked explains it.

"Facebook will allow influencers to produce sponsored content for political campaigns so long as the posts are clearly identified as ads, the company announced on Friday.

Before Friday, Facebook didn’t have any guidelines for influencers who create sponsored content for politicians and political campaigns. But after Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign was found to have paid popular Instagram meme pages for posts, Facebook decided to allow these paid political partnerships.

Sponsored political content will not be placed in Facebook’s political Ad Library unless the creator pays to boost their posts, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to The Verge. Facebook does not receive any money for sponsored posts unless they are boosted."

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137719/facebook-bloomberg-memes-influencer-campaign-ads-election-2020

[BeckyDem]

5. Disagree, she understands perfectly well.

All of the accounts found to have partnered with Bloomberg were paid to post fake direct messages with the candidate, according to The New York Times.

For years, the Federal Trade Commission has required influencers and content creators to clearly label their posts as ads if they’re sponsored. But most of those posts advertise consumer goods like weight loss shakes and clothing. On Thursday, the FTC announced that it would be seeking public comment on whether it should review these rules and inflict harsher penalties for mislabeling content.

[TwilightZone]

6. That was with Instagram. This is a different situation.

She's complaining about paid ads not being catalogued in Facebook's Ad Library.

"Refusing to catalogue paid political ads"

As the article clearly notes, Facebook isn't paid unless ads are boosted and boosted ads are catalogued in the Ad Library.

[BeckyDem]

7. No. She links to it and doesn't understand it?

Refusing to catalogue paid political ads because the Bloomberg campaign found a workaround means there will be less transparency for the content he is paying to promote. Mike Bloomberg cannot be allowed to buy an election with zero accountability. https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137719/facebook-bloomberg-memes-influencer-campaign-ads-election-2020 …

(Bloomberg’s bad memes might just be the beginning)

[Mike 03]

8. Thank you. I alerted her campaign to double check this Tweet.

That's how I interpret this too.

[BeckyDem]

9. Bloomberg's meme spree prompts changes in Facebook, Instagram rules

Facebook won't treat the sponsored content in exactly the same way it treats political ads.



By NANCY SCOLA

02/14/2020 05:48 PM EST

Facebook


Presidential contender Mike Bloomberg's spree of often-surreal social media memes is having one concrete impact — it prompted Facebook to make another change Friday in its rules for paid political content.

From now on, Facebook and its Instagram subsidiary will allow "branded content" from political candidates — a practice in which a campaign pays so-called influencers to place supportive posts on their accounts. Previously, a Facebook spokesperson said, the platforms had banned such content from politicians by default.

Under the new rules, the content will have to be clearly marked as sponsored.

The spokesperson said in a statement that the rule change had been under consideration for some time, with meme posts gaining traction as a campaign tool, and with both political campaigns and government agencies inquiring about the company's policies on their use. Bloomberg drew new attention to the issue this week after paying influential Instagram personalities to post a series of posts meant to look as if the Democratic contender were sending oddball direct messages to the influencer, such as "I put Lamborghini doors on the Escalade."

The New York Times reported Thursday that the Bloomberg campaign is working with a company called Meme 2020 to produce sponsored posts to run on third-party accounts. They bore the disclaimer: "yes this is really #sponsored by @mikebloomberg.”

"After hearing from multiple campaigns, we agree that there’s a place for branded content in political discussion on our platforms," the Facebook spokesperson said. "We’re allowing US-based political candidates to work with creators to run this content, provided the political candidates are authorized and the creators disclose any paid partnerships through our branded content tools.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/14/bloomberg-meme-changes-facebook-instagram-115333