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Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

thetimes.co.uk

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Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#71

Post by pertymcpert »

Rjevski wrote: post #46
corobo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> micro-targeting Facebook adverts at the leader and his closest aides I'm guessing they created a new target list by uploading enough peoples' email addresses to get past Facebook's minimum list length. I don't know how many that is but when I last had a look at it a couple years back the minimum was 20

I think they raised that limit recently, but again nothing prevents you from creating lots of fake profiles just to get past that limit, then targeting all those profiles + the real user you want to target.

Wait, what? You can target someone using their email address?

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#72

Post by Barrin92 »

madrox wrote: post #63
hellllllllooo wrote: post #7

Wow. We've seen people microtarget leaders and CEOs with ads on Facebook to get a job. http://twicsy-blog.tumblr.com/post/174063770074/how-i-target... This is a case where microtargeting the boss hopefully cost them their job. This is completely unethical.

I don't disagree, per se, but it's interesting that we have no problem with leaders of corporations personalizing ads for individuals while we are bothered when the position is reversed.

I think awareness is what makes that comparison not work. There's a reasonable expectation when you see a facebook ad that you're trying to be swayed (could be argued in itself I guess, that's a different discussion), but Corbyn in this case was entirely unaware that he was being duped.

This is really a chain of command problem rather than specifically an advertisement problem.

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#73

Post by detaro »

pertymcpert wrote: post #71
Rjevski wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they raised that limit recently, but again nothing prevents you from creating lots of fake profiles just to get past that limit, then targeting all those profiles + the real user you want to target.

Wait, what? You can target someone using their email address?

Yes: https://www.facebook.com/business/a/custom-audiences

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#74

Post by notahacker »

y4mi wrote: post #66
madrox wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, per se, but it's interesting that we have no problem with leaders of corporations personalizing ads for individuals while we are bothered when the position is reversed.

The goal is the problem. The leaders of the corporations try to convince you to waste your money or time. This time the goal was to discredit someone.

The goal was to satisfy the boss that suggestions they didn't think would work were being carried out whilst spending the bulk of their ad budget on things they thought would work out.

It's far closer to the case where workers send a board they think is clueless a link to some boilerplate code as the requested "blockchain" whilst continuing to implement the Postgres solution they're pretty convinced will work.

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#75

Post by pmlnr »

GreeniFi wrote: post #25

This is disturbing for the following reasons: 1. It alerts us to the possibility of fake political adverts. Do I (hypothetically)see an ad purporting to be a Tory ad promising something that will damage me, placed by a non-Tory actor? 2. Are unknown actors placing adverts which cause discord and dislike? 3. How do we solve this problem? Where FB is not regulated it will be impossible to knowingly audit the materials…

> 3. How do we solve this problem

It's actually very simple: ban politics from social media. Not that it's going to happen.

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#76

Post by eeeuo »

y4mi wrote: post #69
eeeuo wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People often suggest that the Internet is a problem in terms of disinformation, but I'd argue in many cases that the Internet actually helps. In pre-Internet days, it was difficult to get someone's views in their own words, especially in real-time. All information was filtered through various sources before being passed onto the consumer. Now, it's straightforward to check their website, or their twitter, or their yo…

It's called agree of misinformation because it's become increasingly easy to produce convincing fake footage. It's entirely possible to fake a real-time video interview for instance using voice synthesis and mapping the face of your target upon your face. It's frighteningly convincing. I.e. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUC4m6w1wo

I don't think that footage is frighteningly convincing.

It's pretty good, but not difficult to tell that it's not real. The bridge between pretty good and perfect when doing this type of thing is a very, very difficult problem.

It also requires substantial amounts of high quality, up close footage of the person. This may be work for major politicans, but is much more difficult for the vast majority of people.

I don't disagree that it will become more of a problem in the future, and in many cases "pretty good" will be sufficient, but I think people are overstating how much of a problem it will be.

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#77

Post by PunchTornado »

trhway wrote: post #22

i think microtargetting criteria should be disclosed the same way as who paid for the ad, be it commercial or political, doesn't matter. "This ad targeting filters: 'white, male, xenophobe', paid for by Russian government"

what makes you think white males are more likely to be xenophobes?

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#78

Post by detaro »

PunchTornado wrote: post #77
trhway wrote: post #22

i think microtargetting criteria should be disclosed the same way as who paid for the ad, be it commercial or political, doesn't matter. "This ad targeting filters: 'white, male, xenophobe', paid for by Russian government"

what makes you think white males are more likely to be xenophobes?

they are not saying that.

Re: Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign

#80

Post by tomp »

GreeniFi wrote: post #25

This is disturbing for the following reasons: 1. It alerts us to the possibility of fake political adverts. Do I (hypothetically)see an ad purporting to be a Tory ad promising something that will damage me, placed by a non-Tory actor? 2. Are unknown actors placing adverts which cause discord and dislike? 3. How do we solve this problem? Where FB is not regulated it will be impossible to knowingly audit the materials…

> How do we solve this problem?

Adblock.

Every day I keep finding new reasons to use it, while I remain utterly unconvinced by any argument why not to.

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