LTO Links #292

New Scrutiny For Old Tactics

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Issue #292 |

Advertising

With Senate majority on the line, Republicans choose chaos

"Look, it's normal for high-stakes statewide primaries to be competitive, but if Republicans had illusions of running a bunch of polished, disciplined Glenn Youngkin lookalikes on the ballot this year, they must be disappointed. At the same time, we see week after week that Democrats are building a steady online advantage via fundraising and persuasion ads eight months out from Election Day. We’ll see if those on the Right can catch up."

Advocacy

Group backed by tech giants claims thousands of members. Many have never heard of it.

"The council, which goes by the nickname 3C, claims on its website to represent “thousands of digitally empowered small business members from across the country.” Rob Retzlaff, the executive director of 3C, said all of the businesses listed as members have signed up for at least one of 3C’s campaigns, such as in-person events, email lists or the group’s small business resources."

Content

Progressives build massive, cloaked online powerhouse

"The network, operating under the name Real Voices Media, uses apolitical, nonideological content to build up audiences. It then leverages the crowd on behalf of clients in what experts say is a potent persuasion strategy. President Biden and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are beneficiaries."

Data

The Midterms Are Coming. Here’s How to Cover Polling

"Looking ahead, pollsters will need to recognize the importance of reaching people in different ways, says Politico’s Shepard. This means continuing the evolution of polls to include more cell phone interviews and branching out to email, text message, or regular mail. Other analyses have pointed to the need to consider educational attainment as a bigger part of the equation, along with attributes such as age, gender, and geographic location."

Social Media

Facebook and Democratic Elections Simply Don’t Mix

"If Facebook cannot adequately address election misinformation on its home soil, what hope does the rest of the world have – with its tiny satellite offices mostly set up to sell more advertising? Certainly, a few extra dollars to fund fact checkers in Australia isn’t going to make a material difference."

Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok

"These bare-knuckle tactics, long commonplace in the world of politics, have become increasingly noticeable within a tech industry where companies vie for cultural relevance and come at a time when Facebook is under pressure to win back young users."

  • Moffatt: "Today’s Washington Post story not only mischaracterizes the work we do, but key points are simply false." (Twitter.com)

Trump’s Truth Social App Plummets in Traffic, Sees 93% Drop in Signups Since Launch Week

“This is down 93% from its launch week, when it saw 872,000 installs during the week of Feb. 21,” Stephanie Chan, mobile insights strategist at Sensor Tower, told TheWrap. “We estimate that Truth Social has so far reached approximately 1.2 million installs since its launch.”

Technology

Introducing Bonterra: Technology That Powers Those Who Power Social Impact

"The technology and people behind CyberGrants®, EveryAction™, Network for Good®, Social Solutions®, and their respective entities, are coming together as Bonterra™."

Better Canvassing and Voter Contact with MiniVAN 9

"For the past several years, our focus has been on helping campaigns transition away from using paper and toward using MiniVAN. In 2014, MiniVAN usage made up under 20 percent of all canvass attempts. However, after years of iteration and consistent investment in MiniVAN and the supporting canvassing workflows, that number finally hit over 90 percent in January of 2020 during the presidential primary."