Irish abortion vote tests Facebook and campaign data

Facebook is rolling out transparency measures during the Irish campaign to see what happens when all users can see political advertising.

By Sarah Wheaton and Mark Scott
4/24/18

DUBLIN — Ireland’s soul-searching debate over whether to change its constitution and allow women to terminate their pregnancies coincides with a ballooning transatlantic scandal surrounding Facebook and the use of personal data in political advertising.

Irish voters go to the polls May 25 to decide whether to repeal the country’s abortion ban. With the campaign heating up, lawmakers hauled Facebook executives before parliament to grill them about how to prevent people’s personal information from being used to manipulate them online.

Continued: https://www.politico.eu/article/ireland-abortion-referendum-may-25-facebook-advertising-save-the-8th-repeal-the-8th/

Can Facebook beat back the fake news in Ireland’s upcoming vote on abortion?

Can Facebook beat back the fake news in Ireland’s upcoming vote on abortion?
By Laura Hazard Owen
April 20, 2018

The growing stream of reporting on and data about fake news, misinformation, partisan content, and news literacy is hard to keep up with. This weekly roundup offers the highlights of what you might have missed.

Facebook ad transparency ahead of Ireland’s abortion referendum. On May 25, Irish citizens will vote on whether to end the country’s abortion ban. In advance of the referendum, CNN’s Ivana Kottasová reports, Facebook is rolling out a new tool that will “give users more information about political advertisements and sponsored posts in their News Feeds.” It’s already been tested in Canada and will roll out globally before the U.S. midterms.

Continued: http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/04/can-facebook-beat-back-the-fake-news-in-irelands-upcoming-vote-on-abortion/

20.04.2018

News

abortion referendum

anti-abortion fake news

Eighth Amendment

Facebook and abortion referendum

Repeal campaign

Susan Daly

Together for Yes

Transparent Referendum Initiative

Facebook to trial ads tool in Ireland ahead of abortion referendum

Facebook to trial ads tool in Ireland ahead of abortion referendum

Padraic Halpin
April 17, 2018

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will become the second country to trial a new tool that Facebook hopes will ensure greater transparency in political advertising, when it holds a referendum on abortion next month, the company’s vice president for global policy said on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration photo, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

Facebook introduced the tool this month as part of steps to deter the kind of election meddling and online information warfare that U.S. authorities have accused Russia of pursuing, although Moscow has denied the allegations.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy-ireland/facebook-to-trial-ads-tool-in-ireland-ahead-of-abortion-referendum-idUSKBN1HO2QK

17.04.2018

Facebook and abortion referendum

Joel Kaplan

Transparent Referendum Initiative

Europe

Ireland

Law

Why are polls and Facebook ads at odds in Ireland’s abortion referendum?

Why are polls and Facebook ads at odds in Ireland's abortion referendum?
By Ammar Ebrahim

BBC Trending
14 April 2018

While opinion polls show a comfortable lead for the pro-choice side in an upcoming referendum on abortion in Ireland, one set of figures indicates pro-life paid adverts are gaining more traction on Facebook.

On 25 May, Ireland will vote on whether to keep the 8th amendment to the country's constitution, which states that the life of a mother and an unborn baby are equal. It's the basis for Irish laws which make abortion illegal in all but life-threatening cases.

Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-43758286

Ireland – Facebook action too late for abortion vote

Facebook action too late for abortion vote

Ellen Coyne, Senior Ireland Reporter
April 9 2018

Measures to tackle international organisations seeking to influence elections will not apply to the referendum on the Eighth Amendment, Facebook has confirmed.

The network, which is profiting from unknown anti-abortion groups running misleading advertisements before next month’s vote, admitted over the weekend that it had been slow to pick up foreign interference in the 2016 US election. It announced measures to make political adverts more transparent, but they will not be in place in Ireland until later this year at the earliest.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/facebook-action-too-late-for-abortion-vote-225vpvlpz