Online advertising makes the spreading of fake news as easy as tying your shoes.

Courtesy of Bloomberg: 

The intentional spreading of false stories has been credited with swaying such monumental events as last year's Brexit vote and U.S. presidential election. Tech firms such as Alphabet Inc. unit Google and Facebook Inc. have been trying to find ways to weed it out, or at least help users spot it. Some say we need to start earlier, educating children on how to think critically. 

But understanding the unique epidemiology of fake news may be no less important. Unlike a typical virus, purveyors of falsehood don't have to infect people at random. Thanks to the wealth of information available on social media and the advent of targeted advertising, they can go straight for the most susceptible and valuable victims -- those most likely to spread the infection. 

This insight emerges from a recent study by network theorists Christoph Aymanns, Jakob Foerster and Co-Pierre Georg, who ran computer simulations of the way fake news moves through social networks. Using state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms, they examined how individuals might learn to recognize false news, and sought to identify the most important factors in helping fake news spread. 

They found that the most important catalyst of fake news was the precision with which the purveyor targeted an audience -- a task that can easily be accomplished using the data that tech companies routinely gather and sell to advertisers. The key was to seed an initial cluster of believers, who would share or comment on the item, recommending it to others through Twitter or Facebook. False stories spread farther when they were initially aimed at poorly informed people who had a hard time telling if a claim was true or false. 

Hence, we've unwittingly engineered a social media environment that is inherently prone to fake news epidemics. When marketers use information on surfing habits, opinions and social connections to aim ads at people with just the right interests, this can facilitate beneficial economic exchange. But in the wrong hands, the technology becomes a means for the precision seeding of propaganda.

I read through the entire article and to sum it up in a few words, we're fucked.

It seems the only possible long tern solution to this problem is to convince people to stay off social media entirely, and we know that ain't happening.

Or to dramatically improve our education system.

What was that first one again?

So apparently Donald Trump is paying a the fictional ad company on the TV show Mad Men for "web advertising." Wait, what?

NOT a real advertsing

Courtesy of Mediaite:

 In their most recent FEC filing, the Donald Trump campaign revealed that they paid $35,000 to an ad agency that, by all appearances, doesn’t actually exist.

Think Progress’ Judd Legum caught the odd detail when poring over Trump’s financial statements. 

Draper Sterling is the name of the ad agency in AMC’s Mad Men. But Legum is right; Trump’s financial filings show that he made several payments to Draper Sterling in April of this year for web advertising.

Apparently the address for this fictional company is just a hop, skip, and a jump from former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski's hometown.

Probably just a coincidence.

Or not.

Want some Trump news? The campaign is doing a forensic audit on all of Corey Lewandowski's spending.

— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) June 21, 2016

I kid you not, I literally do not know what to say here.

If you wondered what Jeb Bush spent that 130 million on, wonder no more.

This comes courtesy of the New York Times:

Positive Advertising: $84 Million

Well that was money clearly well spent.   

Clubbing: $94,100 

Instead of spending last winter on the hustings of Iowa and New Hampshire, Mr. Bush held off, using the first half of 2015 to raise money in places like New York, Chicago, Texas and Florida. His goal: Raise enough money for a super PAC to scare other candidates — especially those with a similar political profile — out of the race.Over the entire campaign, Mr. Bush’s team racked up tens of thousands of dollars in dinner and event tabs at the Yale Club, the Union League Club of Chicago, Nantucket’s Westmore Club, and more than two dozen other haunts of the well heeled and racquetball-inclined.

Yep another solid tactic.

Valets: $15,800

Well gee, of course you cannot have rich bigwigs parking their own cars.

People: $8.3 Million 

As Mr. Bush’s campaign matured, he and the group supporting him built one of the largest organizations of any candidate in either party, banking that his superior fund-raising would sustain his high overhead costs, which in turn would yield him wins or near-wins in states like Iowa and New Hampshire, where organizing is critical.

Man if only other candidates had thought this far ahead and been this organized. Then they could have dropped out of the race by now as well.

Wait.....

Branding: $88,387 

Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Mr. Bush, and then his campaign directly, retained 30 Point Strategies, a public relations company in Bethesda, Md., specializing in “thought leadership” and “brand journalism,” according to the firm’s website. But in the end, the most lasting label of Mr. Bush was supplied by Mr. Trump: “low energy.”

And the thing that must really hurt is that Trump stuck that label on Jeb! using virtually no money whatsoever. He just kept saying it in debates and stump speeches, and tweeted it a few times.  

Vegas, Baby: $48,544 

Mr. Bush and his staff racked up sizable travel bills, including $3.3 million in airfare and hundreds of thousands of dollars at hotels, ranging from a Best Western in Phoenix to the Biltmore in Coral Gables, Fla. But what stands out is the Bush team’s taste for the Vegas Strip, where aides and allies patronized the Bellagio, the Wynn and the Venetian, owned by Sheldon Adelson, the Republican megadonor.

You know Vegas is where so many dreams go to die.

The Consultants: $10 Million 

A well-funded candidate tends to attract hordes of consultants, and Mr. Bush had plenty. All told, his team paid consulting fees to around 140 different companies or individuals, including senior campaign staff members, opposition research firms, and get-out-the-vote operatives in Iowa and South Carolina. 

And here we thought that Sarah Palin wasted too much money on consultants, with no real return on that investment.

And finally.

Pizza! At a whopping $4,837.

As his fortunes declined this winter, Mr. Bush sharply pared back employees’ salaries and consulting fees, even laying off some campaign staff members to bring down costs. But let it never be said that Mr. Bush allowed his team to go hungry. His campaign and super PAC were particularly fond of the pizza, whether from Domino’s or from Pizza Ranch, the Iowa chain.

Well hey, at least he fed people.

Look at that. 130 million dollars spent and he was never able to even break into the top three.

Just goes to show that no matter how much money you spend, you can never spend enough to make people forget that your brother damn near destroyed the country.

More outside money being spent in Alaska than anyplace else. They are trying to buy OUR election.

Senator Mark Begich, in the GOP cross hairs.

Courtesy of The New York Times: 

A big part of being an Alaskan is harboring a suspicion of all things Lower 48. It’s an inclination that runs so deep that locals have a proper noun to describe everywhere else — Outside. 

So, naturally, there is quite a bit of alarm here over the state’s newest political distinction. Alaska has unwillingly become a giant receptacle for money from “super PACs” and other out-of-state groups fighting over control of the United States Senate. 

In no other state have so many ads about a Senate race run so far; in no place else has more money been spent to book commercial time through Election Day. More than $20 million worth of ads have been reserved so far — the bulk of the money coming from Washington-based outfits like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads, which wants to elect a Republican, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is defending Senator Mark Begich, one of the most targeted first-term Democrats. 

Five months before the November election, that sum would be extraordinary in any state. It is all the more staggering considering it will be spent to reach only about 490,000 registered voters.

Personally I would not categorize the spending by  Democratic Senatorial Campaign in the same way I would the Crossroads and Koc brother money.

After all the Democrats are spending in response to the PAC money flooding out airwaves and to protect one of their own.

I this this reporter, Jeremy Peters, has really hit it on the head when he describes the suspicion with which Alaskans view outside money and influence.

Simply put, we don;t like that shit!

We may be quirky and a little crazy, but we are far more likely to trust a whack-a-doodle from Seward than some uptight suit from the lower 48.

I think that all Begich has to do is continue reminding people Dan Sullivan's ties to outside influences, and remind Alaskans of his similarities to our most famous carpetbagger John Lindauer and he should have little trouble hanging onto his seat.

Get Covered. Courtesy of Obamacare.

Kerry Washington

Olivia Wilde and Billy Eichner

Connie Britton

Adrianne Palicki

Amy Poehler

Lady Gaga

I think it is a great idea to have pop stars and well known actors promoting the Affordable Care Act.

It will go a long way to helping Americans, especially young Americans, wade through the bullshit and learn how the plan benefits them, both now and in the long term.

(H/T to the Obama Diary.)

Two groups, with differing views, buy ads to educate the public about religion and the Founding Fathers. Can you say censorship?

Courtesy of The Friendly Atheist:

Last week, the Christian chain Hobby Lobby ran an ad in dozens of newspapers proclaiming the Christian heritage of our country, with “godly” quotations from the Founding Fathers, the Supreme Court, and Congress.

Here it is:

In response, the Freedom From Religion Foundation paid for several full-page ads of their own, celebrating our “godless Constitution” and how our Founding Fathers actually supported separation of church and state. FFRF said it was the “single most expensive ad campaign in our history.”

Everything was cool and a number of papers printed the ad without issue.

Guess which one The Oklahoman, refused to print.

No fair peeking.

Apparently when you run a paper dedicated to informing the populace, there are SOME tidbits of truthful information that you dare not share.

Beer company in hot water for omitting mention of God while using quotes from Declaration of Independence. Turns out they were following the guidelines.

Courtesy of ABC News: 

In the ad, which has an Independence Day theme, an actor says, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The Declaration of Independence states ”…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

The ad has aired for about three weeks focusing on the July Fourth holiday, but the company is still receiving angry comments posted on its Facebook page. 

“I guess I should not be surprised that a company, interested only in profit, would rewrite American history for commercial gain,” wrote one Facebook user on Samuel Adams’ Facebook page. “However, abusers of history will no longer receive any of my money to support their censorsed [sic] advertising campaigns.” 

In a statement, the Boston Beer Company says it was just trying to follow a code implemented by the trade group, The Beer Institute, which is based in Washington, D.C., and represents 2,800 breweries. 

“We adhere to an advertising code, established by the Beer Institute – a beer industry trade organization - that states, ‘Beer advertising and marketing materials should not include religion or religious themes’,” according to a statement provided by a Boston Beer Company spokeswoman. “We agree with that, and we follow these guidelines and approach our marketing with the utmost responsibility.”

Yeah you know, believe it or not, SOME beer drinkers don't really want mentions of God during their beer commercials. Sort of takes the fun out of over imbibing don't ya know.

The company was following the advertising guidelines so fuck them for doing so, right?

I mean does anybody really think that the forefathers would give a rat's ass that a beer company chose only a part of the Declaration of Independence for their commercial? Hardly. After all how many times does a beer company even mention the document?

No the only people who would even notice something like this are the brittle, overly defensive idiots who think that religion should be inserted into every nook and cranny of our country. Which is NOT what the Founders intended.

Besides how much damage to beer sales do these idiots really think they can do by throwing a fit over this? After all their queen already told college students not to drink this beer.