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Feb 24 • 13 tweets • 7 min read
1. A far-right website that LAUNCHED 36 DAYS AGO is already more popular on Facebook than the Washington Post

The DC Enquirer has executed an audacious scheme to manipulate Facebook's algorithm and ad platform

And @Meta is letting them get away with it

popular.info/p/a-far-right-…
@Meta 2. The DC Enquirer controls a network of large Facebook pages that purport to be independent

They have names like Keep Texas Red ("We are an independent group of concerned Texans who want to help keep Texas from flipping blue") and Conservative Americans

popular.info/p/a-far-right-…
@Meta 3. Each time DC Enquirer publishes an article, all of these "independent" Facebook pages post the link in unison

Here is what happened when DC Enquirer published "Freedom Convoy on the Verge of Victory as Multiple Canadian Provinces Announce an End to Restrictions" on February 9 Image
@Meta 4. How do we know these posts are coordinated? The Facebook Pages in the DC Enquirer network publish these articles within seconds of each other with identical messages

popular.info/p/a-far-right-… Image
5. Some of the pages in the DC Enquirer network are very large. "Red Wave," for example, has 650K+ followers. Many of the other pages have 100K+ followers.

How did a new website gain control of such large pages?

By manipulating the Facebook ad platform

popular.info/p/a-far-right-…
6. Let's take the Facebook page of DC Enquirer's founder, Brandon Gill.

Gill is not a particularly famous person.

He has a Twitter account with 55 followers.

He started his Facebook page on 11/6/21 and already has over 1,000,000 followers!

popular.info/p/a-far-right-… ImageImage
7. Gill has done this by spending heavily on manipulative Facebook ads that trick users into believing they are participating in a poll or petition about removing Biden (or other Dems) from office but are actually just collecting followers for his page

popular.info/p/a-far-right-… Image
8. According to the Facebook ad library, Facebook pages in the DC Enquirer network have spent between $243,000 and $298,000 on manipulative Facebook ads like these since November.

They appear to violate Facebook's spam policy but it's not being enforced

popular.info/p/a-far-right-… Image
9. These ads are manipulative but highly effective. They've allowed the DC Enquirer to build "Red Wave" from zero to 652,000 followers in 54 days.

They've had similar success with a bunch of other pages, including those just a few days old

popular.info/p/a-far-right-… Image
10. According to CrowdTangle, an analytics service owned by Facebook, links to the DC Enquirer had 2.19 million engagements over the last 10 days

The Washington Post, which employs 1000+ journalists, had 1.49 million engagements in the same 10 days

popular.info/p/a-far-right-…
11. Facebook was presented with all this information and declined to comment.

It's a $550B company, but it is unable or unwilling to enforce its own rules.

For updates and more accountability journalism, sign up for the newsletter

popular.info/subscribe
12. Facebook has also declined to comment on a similar scheme I exposed yesterday that is run by the Conservative Brief, another far-right website.

Conservative Brief has more engagement on Facebook than the New York Times

Details:

13. The two schemes are also connected. Brandon Gill, founder and editor of DC Enquirer, "provides strategic marketing direction for Conservative Brief."

Some of the Facebook pages are involved in both schemes.

popular.info/p/a-far-right-…

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 26
Two Republican members of Congress spoke at this white nationalist event.
Here is one of them.
Remember the Republican Party just censured Cheney and Kinzinger for serving on a Congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack.

Will the Republican Party censure members who attend a white nationalist conference where Hitler is openly praised?
Read 4 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 24
The "Don't Say Gay" bill passed the Florida House by a vote of 69-47. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure.
The Florida House also passed the "STOP Woke" act by a vote of 74-41

That bill prohibits schools OR private businesses from engaging in instruction/training that makes anyone "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress" on account of their race
More info on "Don't Say Gay" (and the corporations backing the politicians behind it): popular.info/p/florida-poli…

More info on "STOP Woke": popular.info/p/2022-the-yea…
Read 6 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 23
1. In 2022, an obscure far-right website with three employees, Conservative Brief, has become a DOMINANT force on Facebook.

I've discovered the (dirty) secret to their success.

Follow along if interested.

popular.info/p/how-an-obscu…
2. Facebook has deemphasized the distribution of news. They've even renamed NewsFeed to Feed.

Nearly all publishers have seen engagement decrease substantially.

Not Conservative Brief.

Its engagement per article is up 10x since Feb 2021

popular.info/p/how-an-obscu…
3. Conservative Brief's success on Facebook is immense. It is now getting more engagement on Facebook than the New York Times OR the Washington Post -- media outlets with thousands of journalists.

Conservative Brief doesn't even have a Facebook page!

popular.info/p/how-an-obscu…
Read 15 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 22
UPDATE: @josephbharding just WITHDREW his amendment which would have required schools to out LGBTQ students, even if the disclosure would result in abuse

Your voice matters.
@josephbharding The bill itself, however, is still scheduled for a vote in the Florida house today.

And it is still very bad.

Should the bill become law, younger students with same-sex parents could be prohibited from discussing their family in class.

Details: popular.info/p/florida-poli…
@josephbharding Top corporate donors to the politicians behind the "Don't Say Gay" bill

@CharterNewsroom (229K)
@UnitedHealthGrp (225K)
@Publix (202K)
@ATT (102K)
@Comcast (92K)
@AnheuserBusch (75K)
@DukeEnergy (52K)
@DraftKings (50K)
@Pepsi (35K)
@Walgreens (32K)
@Zillow (20K)
@Amazon (7.5K)
Read 4 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 22
UPDATE: The full Florida House is scheduled to vote on the "Don't Say Gay" bill today

The House will also consider an amendment to the bill requiring schools to out LGBTQ students even in cases where it could lead to abuse

Follow along for more details

popular.info/p/florida-repr…
2. The decision to prioritize this bill in the Florida House was made by one person: Speaker @ChrisSprowls

Sprowls has allotted opponents a grand total of 40 MINUTES to express their concerns about the bill

popular.info/p/florida-repr…
3. Popular Information has fully updated its list of top corporate donors to the Florida politicians behind the bill. It now includes donors to House members who voted for the bill in committee last Thursday and Sprowls.

popular.info/p/florida-repr…
Read 7 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 21
1. TOMORROW the Florida House will vote on the "Don't Say Gay" bill

Opponents are allotted 40 MINUTES to speak

There's one person responsible for the fast-tracking of this bill: Speaker @ChrisSprowls

Sprawls is backed by a slew of major corporations

Follow along if interested
@ChrisSprowls 2. @pepsico has donated $30,000 to @ChrisSprowls since October 2020

3. @DraftKings donated $50,000 to @ChrisSprowls on 2/22/21

Read 9 tweets

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