Labour HQ used Facebook ads to deceive Jeremy Corbyn during election campaign • Hacker News Board

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

#151

Post by frabbit » Sun, Jul 15, 2018, 8:20 PM UTC

downandout wrote: post #84

From the article: ”When the leader of a political party can be tricked in such fashion by his own officials, voters themselves stand little chance.” This event does not support the conclusion that social media ads are effective at “tricking voters”. These ads weren’t even shown to voters. Employees simply microtargeted their boss to convince him that the ads were running. The idea that social media ads are somehow ef…

The downvoting of the above comment is ridiculous. There are two distinct issues: 1) ads may persuade voters to do X 2) the belief that everyone is seeing the same ads

As the above comment correctly points out this story offers no evidence that #1 is taking place.

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

#152

Post by frabbit » Sun, Jul 15, 2018, 8:27 PM UTC

rossdavidh wrote: post #50

Wow, a left-of-center party more worried about change from within than they are about losing the election to the right. What a bizarre and unprecedented thing. Thankfully that could never happen in my home country, the USA.

Labour is a party that since the Kinnock purges of the 1980s only retained a rump of what could be described as `left-wing` and a majority that whole-heartedly embraced neo-liberal economics.

Since the democratic upheaval within Labour (resulting from hundreds of thousands of people joining) this Blair/Brown appartus is being ousted -- and that`s why they are doing these sorts of things. They hate and fear socialist policies, even the watered-down ones advocated by Corbyn and McDonnell.

There`s no point in winning an election if you become right-wing to do it.

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

#153

Post by frabbit » Sun, Jul 15, 2018, 8:32 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #97

This pretty interesting, not only did his campaign fool him, they fooled the people voting for Corbyn —they made him appear more centrist than he actually was for, they feared, if they broadcast his real intended message to all, it might have turned voters away from his views.

That`s one of the really interesting questions in this. But if you look at polls on the policies which were supposedly so left wing they would turn away voters then another conclusion can be reached: namely that Corbyn`s left-wing policies are more in tune with the electorate and that this sabotage by HQ may have cost Labour the last election.

Someone should be going to jail for this.

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

#154

Post by frabbit » Sun, Jul 15, 2018, 8:32 PM UTC

Here is a non-paywalled report on the same topic from another source: https://inews.co.uk/news/labour-staff-deceived-corbyn-facebo...

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

#155

Post by PhasmaFelis » Sun, Jul 15, 2018, 10:55 PM UTC

fareesh wrote: post #114

andy_ppp wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a person was to go round your office saying subtly different things to everyone in the hope of making friends and ending up in charge, would you think that was fair or would it make them a creep?

I'd think the people who put him in charge did it to themselves.

You're dodging the question. Is this person trustworthy?

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

#156

Post by PhasmaFelis » Sun, Jul 15, 2018, 11:19 PM UTC

mkempe wrote: post #149

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, yes, a government that doesn't actually do anything for its citizens is likely to have less corruption. It's not much of a government, though.

Taking from some citizens via taxes to give to others via welfare programs is not the sole extent of government activities, one would hope. I suggest studying the nature and extent of constitutionally limited governments before Bismarck introduced the Welfare State as we know it. My point is not that government is corrupt; it is that politicians under a Welfare State have increasingly corrupt and manipulative designs…

I don't want a totalitarian society, but I also don't want to live in a world where the poor and the sick are left to die in the streets, and I reject the notion that there's no possible happy medium.