Tag: polls

Hungary Mulls Sanctions Against Social Media Giants

Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga on Monday raised the prospect of sanctioning social media firms over what she called “systematic abuses” of free speech. From a report: The minister said she would meet the Hungarian competition watchdog this week to discuss possible penalties for what she described as unfair commercial practices as well as convening a meeting of the country’s digital…

Many Formerly-Skeptical Americans are Now Eager to Get Covid-19 Vaccines

The New York Times reports:
Ever since the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine began last spring, upbeat announcements were stalked by ominous polls: No matter how encouraging the news, growing numbers of people said they would refuse to get the shot… But over the past few weeks, as the vaccine went from a hypothetical to a reality, something happened. Fresh surveys…

Sportsbet Says It Will Pay Out Early On Biden As US President

Anonymouse Cowtard writes: When you’re holding millions in bets on the favorite, you don’t take the decision to payout lightly. Betting agencies are often good barometers for political polls, but Sportsbet has been stung before. They incorrectly paid out on bets for the Labor Party in Australia to win two days before the election was held, assuming a victory would come…

Oregon Becomes First State To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms

Oregonians have voted to pass Measure 109 to become the first state in the country to legalize psilocybin. OregonLive reports: Measure 109 was passing by 59.25% Tuesday when the polls closed in Oregon. Multiple cities have decriminalized the substance, but Oregon will become the first to permit supervised use statewide if that majority holds. The measure […] will allow regulated use…

Why You Can’t Rely on Election Forecasts

Zeynep Tufekci, writing at The New York Times: There’s a strong case for ignoring the predictions. Why do we have models? Why can’t we just consider polling averages? Well, presidents are not elected by a national vote total but by the electoral votes of each state, so national polls do not give us the information we need. As two of the…

Wisconsin Republican Party Says Hackers Stole $2.3 Million

Hackers stole $2.3 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party’s account that was being used to help reelect President Donald Trump in the key battleground state, the party’s chairman told The Associated Press on Thursday. From a report: The party noticed the suspicious activity on Oct. 22 and contacted the FBI on Friday, said Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt. Hitt said the…

Facebook Approves Trump Ads That Violate Its Pre-Election Rules

Judd Legum, reporting at Popular Information: In September, Facebook announced that it would stop accepting new political ads starting October 27. From October 27 through Election Day on November 3, political groups are permitted to run, subject to limitations, Facebook ads approved and running before October 27. In October, Facebook announced that after the polls close, it would ban all political…

Facebook Widens Ban On Political Ads As Alarm Rises Over Election

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: On Wednesday, Facebook said it would take more preventive measures to keep political candidates from using it to manipulate the election’s outcome and its aftermath. The company now plans to prohibit all political and issue-based advertising after the polls close on Nov. 3 for an undetermined length of time. And…

Mark Zuckerberg Launches a Push to Recruit Poll Workers for US Election on Facebook

“Facebook is launching a recruitment drive for poll workers this weekend, putting messages into users’ News Feeds with links to poll worker registration sites in their state,” reports the Verge: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post announcing the drive that it was part of the company’s larger voting information campaign, which has a goal of helping 4 million people register…