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Judd Legum

6 May, 10 tweets, 6 min read

@OversightBoard

1. I've been a longtime skeptic of the Facebook @OversightBoard and remain one but I was pretty impressed with the decision it released yesterday.

Here's why.

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

@OversightBoard

@OversightBoard 2. First the @OversightBoard called out Facebook directly for trying to use the Oversight Board as a mechanism to avoid accountability.

There were direct: "Facebook seeks to avoid its responsibilities. The Board declines Facebook’s request"

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

@OversightBoard

@OversightBoard 3. The @OversightBoard also understood that this is not just about Trump. IT'S ABOUT THE ALGORITHM.

So the Board asked Facebook about the algorithm and how it amplified Trump and all the lies that set the stage for January 6

Facebook REFUSED TO ANSWER

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

@OversightBoard

4. And this is where I go back to being an @OversightBoard skeptic. The board identified the info it needed to do its job. Facebook said it wouldn't provide it and that's the end of the story.

It's not a court. Facebook defines the scope of its power.

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

5. The algorithm is key. Because it still favors Trumpism. And as long as that's the case, Facebook will have the same problems with or without Trump.

The data tells the story.

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

@NewsWhip

6. In April, according to new data released by @NewsWhip, The Daily Wire - a bigoted far-right site that does no original reporting - received more than double the distribution of the @washingtonpost and the @nytimes COMBINED

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

7. Engagement (likes, shares, comments) on Facebook per article in April:

Daily Wire (54,084)

New York Times (2,943)

Washington Post (1,973)

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

8. And it's not just The Daily Wire.

Western Journal, an obscure right-wing aggregation site that pushed Trump's false claims of voter fraud, also received more distribution than the NYT or the WashPost.

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

9. Facebook is not reflecting reality. It's creating its own reality. In no other context are people 15 times more interested in drivel from The Daily Wire than reporting from the New York Times.

popular.info/p/facebooks-pr…

10. One day, Trump may be back allowed on Facebook. Or he may not. But as long as the Facebook algorithm continues to favor Trumpism, nothing much will change.

Sign up for the newsletter for updates and accountability journalism.

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

5 May

1. After months of silence, some corporations are finally speaking out against Texas' voter suppression bills

Others are staying quiet

The makeup of the two groups tells us a lot about politics in Texas and around the country

Follow along if interested

popular.info/p/update-some-…

2. None of the companies taking public stances against SB7 and HB6 are among the top corporate PAC contributors to the sponsors of the bill.

These companies have prioritized their relationship with Texas Republicans over voting rights

popular.info/p/update-some-…

@SenTedCruz

3. Many of the top donors are members of the Greater Houston Partnership, a biz group. Many members wanted to speak out against the bills. But it was nixed by GHP leadership

A guess who is a member of the GHP leadership? Heidi Cruz, wife of @SenTedCruz

popular.info/p/update-some-…

Read 6 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

4 May

1. You may have heard something about the "audit" of votes being conducted right now in Maricopa County Arizona.

But I don't think there is a full appreciate for just how BONKERS it is

Follow along if interested

popular.info/p/the-counting…

2. It's important to establish that the votes in Maricopa County were already counted, audited, and approved by the REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED BOARD that administers elections there

Lawsuits challenging the count were thrown out of court

popular.info/p/the-counting…

3. So the Arizona Senate, controlled by Republicans who promote Trump's false claims of voter fraud, subpoenaed 2.1M ballots and sent them to the former home of the Phoenix Suns

Then, they put a conspiracy theorist from Florida in charge of the operation

popular.info/p/the-counting…

Read 9 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

3 May

1. According to the State Department, cotton from the Chinese territory of Xinjiang is being harvested with forced manual labor

Is that cotton in the products you buy?

We decided to ask major clothing brands to find out.

Follow along if interested.

popular.info/p/is-your-t-sh…

2. Popular Information contacted 17 consumer clothing brands and asked them to clarify whether their products contained cotton produced in Xinjiang.

Only one provided a response

There is a reason why companies don't want to answer this basic question

popular.info/p/is-your-t-sh…

3. Most major clothing brands are members of the Better Cotton Initiative. Up until last year the BCI was "certifying" cotton from Xinjiang.

In October 2020 that stopped, citing "sustained allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses"

popular.info/p/is-your-t-sh…

Read 9 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

30 Apr

@RonDeSantisFL

1. Florida's voter suppression bill, SB90, passed the legislature. @RonDeSantisFL will sign it.

Top corporate donors to the sponsors of SB90:

@UnitedHealthGrp (180K)
@Publix (157K)
@AnheuserBusch (75K)
@ATT (45K)
@CVSHealth (32K)

NONE of these corps publicly opposed the bill

@RonDeSantisFL

@RonDeSantisFL @UnitedHealthGrp @Publix @AnheuserBusch @ATT @CVSHealth 2. Kind of cuts against the idea that corporations have suddenly become "woke." In fact, they are financing the campaigns of politicians who are pushing voter suppression legislation and then saying nothing as the bills are considered and signed into law.

popular.info/p/corporate-ba…

3. Florida Republicans say their election in 2020 was a national model with no fraud.

So why are they passing legislation to make it harder to vote?

Here's what the primary author of the bill said: "[S]ome days even I don’t know why I did something,"

popular.info/p/corporate-ba…

Read 4 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

29 Apr

BREAKING

Dem members of the TX House Committee on Elections write Attorney General Garland and ask the DOJ Civil Rights Division to monitor future proceedings of the committee after the chair tried to force a vote on a sweeping voter suppression bill with no notice or hearing

The full letter is available here: kxan.com/wp-content/upl…

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1387843651087310854

You can get more detail about what went on today (including video) in my thread from earlier today

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1387843651087310854

Read 6 tweets

Judd Legum

@JuddLegum

29 Apr

@BriscoeCain

1. CHAOS in Texas today as Republicans pull out all the stops to push a voter suppression bill over the goal line.

At the center is @BriscoeCain, the Texas Rep who famously traveled to Pennsylvania to help Trump push false claims of voter fraud.

Follow along if interested.

@BriscoeCain

@BriscoeCain 2. There are two main voter suppression bills in Texas, HB6 and SB7. But they've stalled.

Cain, the chair of the House Election Committee, announced he was taking SB7 and amending it so it was identical to HB6.

This way the House could pass "SB7" and get it to the Governor.

3. Cain attempted to get his Zombie SB7 through the committee with no notice or hearing.

One Democrat, on a hot mic, called it "bullshit"

And at least one Republican agreed.

So Cain was forced to abandon his plan, at least for now.

Watch: