Over the past few days there have been credible reports (see this Guardian piece) that both Google and Facebook are seriously considering a ban on micro-targeted political ads. Tech giants have a lot of thoughts they don’t follow through, and it’s rare to see them acting in concert, but if this happened it would be good news for everyone because those ads are total garbage. Such a ban would have a considerable impact on American PACs but won’t make much difference to UK campaigns. Here’s why.
Signify featured in ITV Documentary: Brexit Online Uncovered
Our Chief Strategy Officer Jon is the lead forensic expert in this excellent documentary about the death threats levelled against MPs during the Brexit debate, how those death threats have been incited and triggered by various activist networks, and the impact on democracy. Be warned - it is a depressing watch with foul language from the start. But for us, a proud moment to see Jon talking about a tiny fragment from the monumental tapestry of hatred and fake news that he and his team have been piecing together for the better part of a year.
Five Rules of Ethical Data Science
What is Dark Social?
What is dark social? Why does it matter? What is the impact of private networks on public opinion? Is there a way to track or measure dark social? Our friends at Hook Research produced this video - featuring our own Jonathan Sebire (Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer) - as part of their excellent Talking Human series.
'Dark Social' describes activity that takes place on social media behind privacy settings, and which cannot be measured by conventional social media analytics. Thanks to the proliferation of messaging apps and increased awareness of privacy settings on Facebook, dark social is now a larger and more active space than public social media channels like Twitter.
Signify are especially interested in dark social because it is the place where extreme ideas and thoughts go unchallenged, finding acceptance with large groups of like-minded individuals before entering the mainstream. It is impossible to understand the increasing influence of nationalist ideas and groups without tracing their work on dark social.
You can read more about Dark Social and subscribe to the excellent Talking Human series via the Hook Research blog