| | | | | Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton attend the trophy presentation prior to Thursday's foursome matches of the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images | | | "Dammit, This is Not a Good News Story": The mayor of San Juan blasts DHS secretary
Wait, 50 Cent Said What, Now?: The rapper claimed the Trump campaign offered him a half-million for his support
This is How Easy it is to Buy an Ad on Facebook Like the Russian Troll Farms Did: A look at Facebook's self-service ad manager platform | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump's speech today to the National Association of Manufacturers. And then he's off to Bedminster, New Jersey, for the weekend, his ninth trip there since taking office.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
So many things. The situation with personal emails at the White House; the latest with Cabinet members and the planes; pulling US personnel out of Cuba; the latest on Puerto Rico recovery efforts. What did I miss?
"Dammit, This is Not a Good News Story":
A fiery and frustrated Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, lambasted the statement made yesterday by acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, wherein she called rescue efforts "really a good news story." Cruz, on CNN's "New Day" this morning, countered, saying, "This is a 'people are dying' story."
The Price of Flying Private:
As I've been saying this week, it's going to be difficult for HHS Secretary Tom Price to clear this whole plane thing, especially as more and more details unfold, including now international travel. And as often happens in these sorts of journalism wins, now everyone in the Cabinet is under scrutiny -- and so far EPA chief Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have questionable private plane travel.
The offer Price made to pay back approximately $51,000 of the estimated $400,000 (and climbing) expenses for plane travel, I think, made the story even worse. Again, I find myself asking: Who is advising this administration on crisis communications?
If you want to catch up on the entire debacle, I suggest reading Dan Diamond's 24-post Twitter synopsis, which he posted this morning. | | POTUS and FLOTUS Confirm Travel to Asia:
On November 3, Donald and Melania Trump will take off on an 11-day Asia visit. They'll visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, then stop over in Hawaii. | | Wait, 50 Cent Said What Now?:
In an interview with a radio station this week, rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) said the Trump campaign offered him a half-million dollars to come out in support of Trump's candidacy, in an effort to secure black voters. "I was like, nah, that's not good money," 50 Cent said in the interview. The story was reported today in Page Six, which reached out for comment from the White House, which referred correspondents to the Trump campaign, which has not yet responded.
Trump Sketch That You Can Own:
There's a new black and white marker Trump sketch up for auction, and the bidding is still open. It's of the Empire State Building. He apparently drew it for a charity dinner auction back in during the '90s. Back then, it went for less than $100, but today it's expected to fetch $12,000. In July, another Trump sketch, this one of the Manhattan skyline, sold for $29,000. In a surprise twist, part of the proceeds from the sale of the current sketch, which is being conducted by Julien's Auctions, will go toward funding for National Public Radio. | | Credit: Courtesy Julienslive.com
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Announces She Has Breast Cancer:
In a social media post, the "VEEP" actress shared her diagnosis and her thoughts on health care. The show of support was swift, but Joe Biden's tweet was epic. | | Credit: @JoeBiden/Twitter
Our Daily Melania:
When critics hit out at D&G for supporting Melania's choice of one of its dresses for New Year's Eve festivities, Stefano Gabbana stood up for her on his Instagram account, essentially calling out the haters for being haters. Then, when Melania's official White House portrait was unveiled in April, she was wearing a Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo jacket. This summer, during her travels abroad, it was clear Melania was loyal to the brand loyal to her. She wore it to meet the Pope, to an official spouses dinner, and (who can forget) on a sightseeing tour of Sicily, where she picked the house's $51,500 flower-festooned jacket.
Now, the duo is speaking about that experience. In the upcoming issue of WSJ.Magazine, out October 7, Dolce says, "She's a lady. We dress many ladies in the world. What is the problem? Can you imagine if we started to check all the people who wear Dolce & Gabbana?" Gabbana added, "It doesn't matter what people think .... You cannot please everyone. We don't mix fashion and politics. That's the truth!" | | What Washington is Talking About:
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has called for a briefing on the unfolding bribery scandal in college basketball, with representatives from the NCAA and sports equipment companies.
What America is Talking About:
Millions in Puerto Rico remain without power or water, and at least 10,000 shipping containers of supplies remain in the Port of San Juan because there aren't enough drivers or fuel, and roads are blocked.
Poll of the Day:
The percentage of Americans who believe the Supreme Court is too conservative is higher than those who believe it is too liberal for the first time since 2008, according to Gallup. A plurality of 43% believe the Court is "about right." | | Credit: Gallup
This is How Easy it is to Buy an Ad on Facebook Like the Russian "Troll Farms" Did:
The politically divisive Facebook ads bought during the 2016 campaign by the Russia-connected "troll farm" known as the Internet Research Agency were purchased through the social networks' self-service ad manager platform. This is how easy it is today to buy ads on the platform and target specific groups of people.
The opening page touts advertising on Facebook as an easy way to "find people easily," "get their attention" and "see the results," which sounds pretty benign if you're thinking about small business targeting customers who'd be most interested in their products -- but utterly terrifying if you're thinking of a foreign power seeking to sow political discord in a rival country. | | Credit: Facebook
Facebook first asks users for their marketing objective for their ad, either awareness, consideration or conversion. I clicked "conversion" and made a campaign to promote COVER/LINE subscriptions. You can then determine what audience you want to reach by geography, age and gender. I selected men and women ages 18 to 34 who live in Washington and speak English. | | Credit: Facebook
Users can then select more detailed targeting. You can select based on generation, household composition and interests, all based on pages people like and information they've given Facebook and Instagram about themselves. I selected "young & hip" millennials interested in "trendy fashion." | | Credit: Facebook
But wait, there's more! Say you're working for a Russian troll farm and you're building a campaign targeting, say, people with strong opinions about Black Lives Matter or same-sex marriage or gun rights. You can select people based on their politics -- "likely to engage" with conservative, liberal or moderate political content, or how they self-identify politically -- and combine that with other demographic information to reach your intended audience. I skipped that part, because COVER/LINE is for everyone, no matter who they voted for. | | Credit: Facebook
You can also target people by where they say they work. I selected people who work at the White House. Based on the criteria I selected, my ads reach an audience of fewer than 1,000 people. That's what I call microtargeting. | | Credit: Facebook
I spoke with a source who works on inbound marketing and audience building at a conservative website about how they use Facebook's self-service ad manager platform.
"You're going after someone who's pretty susceptible to be manipulated," the source said. "It's a pretty effective way to build an audience."
The source has worked on websites that ran ads during the Obama administration asking targeted Facebook users to "like" their page as a form of expressing their politics, with language like, "Like this post if you're not going to let Obama take our oil" or "Like this post if you're upset with how Obama's handling ISIS."
"A lot of red meat stuff," the source said. "Facebook discourages it, but it still was an effective way to blow up your page" quickly.
NBA Commissioner to Players: Stand for the Anthem:
NBA preseason games begins this weekend and, unlike the NFL, the organization has rules about standing during the anthem. Commissioner Adam Silver said at a news conference that the league has a rule that requires players to stand for the anthem, adding, "It's been our rule for as long as I've been involved with the league, and my expectation is that our players will continue to stand for the anthem."
Beyonce Releases Benefit Remix:
Beyonce hopped onto a remix of "Mi Gente" with J. Balvin and Willy William, singing in both English and Spanish on the track. "I am donating my proceeds from this song to hurricane relief charities for Puerto Rico, Mexico and the other affected Caribbean islands," the singer wrote on Instagram. | | Credit: @beyonce/Instagram
Rihanna to Trump: "Don't Let Your People Die Like This":
That's what she tweeted yesterday, along with a cover of the New York Daily News: | | Credit: @rihanna/Twitter
Street Art Sighting:
A bar in Lake Ozark, Missouri, repurposed some NFL jerseys as doormats. S.N.A.F.U Bar owner Jason Burle told KOMU he bought jerseys for Marshawn Lynch and Colin Kaepernick and taped them outside the doors so they read "Lynch Kaepernick." The order of the names was because that's how they came out of the box they were shipped in, he said. "It's not a race thing," Burle said. He also sent the station a photo of the mats in reverse order. | | Credit: KOMU
Send me your pics of political street art to coverlinehunter@cnn.com, tweet me @hunterschwarz or tag @cnncoverline on Instagram. | | | | | | |
