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Facebook won’t allow advertisers to target groups identified by self-reported information

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Facebook won’t allow advertisers to target groups identified by self-reported information

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]~By Daniel Golden

The decision comes in the wake of a ProPublica report that established how advertisers directed pitches to 2300 people interested in anti-Semitic topics

In the wake of ProPublica’s report Thursday that Facebook advertisers could have directed pitches to almost 2,300 people interested in “Jew hater” and other anti-Semitic topics, the world’s largest social network said it would no longer allow advertisers to target groups identified by self-reported information.

“As people fill in their education or employer on their profile, we have found a small percentage of people who have entered offensive responses,” the company said in a statement. “…We are removing these self-reported targeting fields until we have the right processes in place to prevent this issue.”

Facebook had already removed the anti-Semitic categories — which also included “How to burn Jews” and “History of ‘why Jews ruin the world’” — after we asked the company about them earlier this week. Then, after our article was published, Slate reported that Facebook advertisers could target people interested in other topics such as “Kill Muslim Radicals” and “Ku-Klux-Klan.” Facebook’s algorithm automatically transforms people’s self-reported interests, employers and fields of study into advertising categories.

Because audiences in the hateful categories were “incredibly low,” the ad campaigns targeting them reached “an extremely small number of people,” Facebook said. Its statement didn’t identify the advertisers. Conceivably, those who might find it helpful to target anti-Semites could range from recruiters for far-right groups to marketers of Nazi memorabilia.

ProPublica documented that the anti-Semitic ad categories were real by paying $30 to target those groups with three “promoted posts” — in which a ProPublica article or post was displayed in their news feeds. Facebook approved all three ads within 15 minutes.

Facebook’s advertising has become a focus of national attention since it disclosed last week that it had discovered $100,000 worth of ads placed during the 2016 presidential election season by “inauthentic” accounts that appeared to be affiliated with Russia.

Like many tech companies, Facebook has long taken a hands-off approach to its advertising business. Unlike traditional media companies that select the audiences they offer advertisers, Facebook generates its ad categories automatically based both on what users explicitly share with Facebook and what they implicitly convey through their online activity.

Traditionally, tech companies have contended that it’s not their role to censor the internet or to discourage legitimate political expression. In the wake of the violent protests in Charlottesville by right-wing groups that included self-described Nazis, Facebook and other tech companies vowed to strengthen their monitoring of hate speech.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote at the time that “there is no place for hate in our community,” and pledged to keep a closer eye on hateful posts and threats of violence on Facebook. “It’s a disgrace that we still need to say that neo-Nazis and white supremacists are wrong — as if this is somehow not obvious,” he wrote.

— The story was first published on ProPublica website

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India News

Maharashtra Assembly election: Uddhav Thackeray expels 5 Sena members for not withdrawing nominations

Following the withdrawal of nominations, around 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats

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Maharashtra Assembly election: Uddhav Thackeray expels 5 Sena members for not withdrawing nominations

Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief on Tuesday expelled five rebel leaders for anti-party activities after they failed to withdraw nominations filed for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

The expelled leaders include Bhiwandi East MLA Rupesh Mhatre, Vishwas Nandekar, Chandrakant Ghugul, Sanjay Awari and Prasad Thackeray. Reportedly, 14 leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP had filed nominations, defying party command. 

Among those who withdrew their nominations by the Monday deadline was Congress’ Mukhtar Shaikh, who withdrew from the Kasba Peth assembly constituency in Pune and announced his support to the party’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.

In addition, royal scion Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati’s withdrawal as Congress candidate from Kolhapur North minutes before the deadline left the party without representation in one of its western Maharashtra strongholds. Madhurima Raje was nominated in place of ex-corporator Rajesh Latkar after a party office was vandalised by those opposed to the latter.

Hemalata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla and Vishwanath Walvi from Nandurbar are among the seven Congress rebels who withdrew their nominations. Only two NCP(SP) rebels are in fray.

Furthermore, among those to withdraw from the electoral race was Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has held on-and-off hunger strikes and protests to demand reservation for the community in education and jobs over the past year. The activist said that the Maratha community will decide on its own whom to defeat and whom to elect. He also announced he would support two candidates from Parvati and Daund in the state assembly polls, though he said their names will be disclosed later.

Following the withdrawal of nominations, around 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats, while 2,938 candidates withdrew their papers. The figure is a 28 per cent increase from the 3,239 candidates who fought the 2019 assembly polls.

This year, the Maharashtra Assembly election will see major regional parties NCP and Shiv Sena contesting after a split down the middle. The factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP have joined hands with the BJP to form the Mahayuti. The Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

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India News

Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies

The government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary.

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Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies

The Centre on Tuesday has issued a notice to Wikipedia over multiple complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform. The government in its letter to Wikipedia highlighted that a small group of editors appears to have significant control over the contents, particularly influencing its neutrality. 

Reports said that the government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary. However, neither Wikipedia nor the government has issued an official statement on the matter so far. 

Wikipedia, popularly known as free online encyclopedia, allows volunteers to create and edit pages on a wide variety of topics, including people, issues and various fields of knowledge. This recent development follows two months after the Delhi High Court slammed Wikipedia and also warned it of a potential ban in India during a case filed by news agency ANI, which alleged that its Wikipedia page contained inaccuracies and defamatory content. 

In the last hearing, Justice Subramonium Prasad further observed that Wikipedia might not be entitled to defend the defamatory edits since it claims to be only an intermediary. The Delhi HIgh Court also questioned if Wikipedia is an intermediary, why is it bothered? It added that if somebody else has edited and that addition is without basis, then it comes down.

It further stated that Wikipedia is not here to protect the editors but is a mere wall. The court opined that it will only see whether the opinion given in the encyclopaedia does not depict the correct picture, as not true representation of the article. However, Wikipedia clarified that it was not defending the statements or edits made on Wikipedia’s page about ANI. It further sought to assist the court in the matter, particularly with regard to the architecture of the platform. 

Notably, Wikipedia has faced growing criticism for alleged bias and inaccuracies, especially amid the ongoing US presidential elections. Elon Musk, owner of X, has publicly accused Wikipedia of supporting far-left ideologies. He also urged the public to stop donating to Wikipedia, claiming it is controlled by far-left activists.

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly election, PM Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it to put appeasement at the top of its agenda.

While addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, the Prime Minister said the coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators. He said that the JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak, and that these parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. He alleged that the parties are supporters of infiltrators, and to get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister stated that when schools disallow Saraswati Vandana, one can imagine how big the danger is. When there is stone-pelting during festivals, Maa Durga is stopped and curfew is imposed, one knows how dangerous it is, he continued. The Prime Minister also added that when the issue of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies, it becomes clear that the government machinery has been infiltrated. PM Modi was referring to allegations that a Muslim teacher stopped prayers to Goddess Saraswati at a school in Jharkhand’s Giridih.

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink, and advised people to use their vote to uproot this infiltrator coalition. He maintained that Jharkhand’s swift development is possible only if it has a government that expedites the implementation of central schemes.

Referring to the JMM’s decision to replace Champai Soren as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was granted bail in a money laundering case, PM Modi said that the party has left no stones unturned in humiliating an adivasi son. He asked how the party will take care of the people of the state when nothing matters to them more than family. He added that he does not have a family, and the people are his family. He also mentioned that Champai Soren, once a trusted lieutenant of Hemant Soren, is now with the BJP.

Slamming the ruling coalition of corruption, he said that corruption hollows out the country like termites, and destroys the poor, Dalits, people from backward classes and tribals. He claimed that Jharkhand has seen for five years the corruption of the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

He also referred to the massive cash haul from the home of Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu last year. Mentioning that mountains of cash are recovered from the home of Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP, he questioned if this money didn’t belong to Jharkhand.

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