A boom in attention-grabbing digital advertising by political parties has sparked debate among politicians, regulators, and platforms about how to balance freedom of speech with a responsibility to prevent manipulation, such as through viral deception and inappropriate micro-targeting.
In recent months, some of the world’s largest online companies have been pressured into taking a stand against manipulative political advertising, which can spread very quickly on social networks, boosted by algorithms prioritising controversial and ‘engaging’ content. The issue is considered pressing, given the risk of the upcoming 2020 US presidential election being manipulated (including by state actors) as was the case in 2016.
According to a report from CBS News, Google and its subsidiary YouTube have so far removed at least 300 video adverts placed by the Trump campaign, mainly during the summer of 2018. Although the ads were removed for violating terms of service...