A Facebook glitch blocks certain political ads

The company says it has mostly fixed the “technical problems.” ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View on the web]( [Recode]( [Click to view images]( [Facebook glitch blocks certain political ads, raising new questions about transparency]( On Thursday evening, the Biden campaign reported a concerning problem: A number of their previously approved ads never ran on Facebook. The social network quickly admitted that “technical flaws” related to its moratorium on new ads in the week before the election caused the ads not to appear. The Trump campaign said that some of its ads didn’t appear either. Given the context, this glitch suggests that Facebook still isn’t ready to deal with the deluge of chaos that Election Day will bring. At the very least, the company is still struggling with transparency around how its political ad system works. “Every week, there is new bad stuff that gets through Facebook’s own monitoring and screening,” Laura Edelson, a researcher at NYU studying political ads, told Recode. “The real danger is that Facebook says it can do this job themselves, but they can’t.” Edelson has a unique perspective on the problem. She and her team at NYU have been fighting with Facebook over a browser extension they built to help them study how political ads work on the platform. Facebook has demanded the tool be taken down, which actually serves to prove the researchers’ point that Facebook’s political ads system lacks transparency. Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil reports on Facebook’s pressing problems with political ads, especially as they relate to transparency and the company’s readiness to handle the 2020 election. [Click to view images]( [Big Tech is doing great as the economy tanks]( As Covid-19 surges, the world’s biggest tech companies report staggering profits [ Rani Molla / [Recode]( ] [Click to view images]( [Dan Bongino has no Idea why Facebook loves him]( The right-wing commentator, whose page performs better than those of major news organizations, is perplexed by his social media success. [ Kevin Roose / [New York Times]( ] [Click to view images]( [Silicon Valley is spending way more on the 2020 election than it did on 2016]( New numbers show just how much tech is spending to get rid of Trump. [ Theodore Schleifer and Rani Molla / [Recode]( ] [Click to view images]( [How a fake persona laid the groundwork for a Hunter Biden conspiracy deluge]( A 64-page document that was later disseminated by close associates of President Donald Trump appears to be the work of a fake "intelligence firm." [ Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny / [NBC News]( ] [Click to view images]( [Nate Silver on why 2020 isn’t 2016]( The FiveThirtyEight founder on polling error, Trump’s chances, and the possibility of an electoral crisis. [ Ezra Klein / [Vox]( ] [This is Cool Section Title] [An oral history of election night 2016 at MSNBC]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( Twitter [Instagram]( [Recode by Vox]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.