So this morning while on Facebook (something I use rarely), I noticed an anti-Ed Lee ad appearing on the side of the page. Curious as to what it was all about, I clicked on it, assuming I’d be taken to either a Facebook Fan Page, or linked to a campaign website that would tell me who was putting this ad on Facebook, and what they were all about. Instead, it just linked me to the Mayor’s official website and its “Contact Ed Lee” online email page.
Facebook keeps pushing back on disclosure for political ads, but here’s an example of how their “links are disclosure” defense doesn’t hold up. I, the voter, am left to make assumptions instead of having facts. When I posed the question to Twitter, naturally it started endless speculation that Leland Yee’s campaign, or perhaps his consultant, Jim Stearns, posted the ad.
Personally, I don’t think that’s very fair to Yee or Stearns, since it’s not a fact, it’s an assumption. If they didn’t do it, they’re getting tarred with something they had nothing to do with. If they did buy the ads, then they should just say so somewhere. However, given the fact that Yee and Stearns have been aggressive in attacking the less-than-transparent doings of the “Run Ed Run” operation, I don’t imagine they’d be dumb enough to pull a shady move of their own that would be as un-transparent as the “Run Ed Run” movement.
I’ll be waiting to see what, if any, information is later found. Given how lame the Ethics and Elections office is in San Francsico, and how SF politics tend to be some of the most corrupt, I doubt we’ll ever know. It’s kinda like that anti-Leno site that stole my pictures off flickr.com and never paid me for my stolen image.
UPDATE: In a tweet to myself and another Twitter user, Mr. Stearns confirmed that neither his firm, nor the Yee campaign purchased the Facebook ad.
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