activities
exhibitions, collaborations and other activities from the lab
We communicate important aspects of our work in artistic, journalistic and policymaking realms. We have presented at art and design exhibitions, undertaken short and long term
investigations with journalists, and responded to policy conversations. We look to join forces with others who are understanding the platform giants, and the impact
of their policies across the world. If you would like to host a workshop or an exhibition, or need help understanding the data, do not hesitate to contact us at info@ad.watch.
articles
investigations from the lab
Report problematising the framework of political transparency, its language, metaphors and structural problematics.
Apr 11 2020
Tracing the project’s evolution - with its revelations, roadblocks, techniques and tools, for Tactical Tech's Exposing the Invisible Kit.
Apr 11 2020
A report uncovering silence period violations in the Indian general elections of 2019.
May 6 2019
news
the lab in the news
01.08.2019
Two researchers have created an easy to use searchable visual database of political advertising on Facebook from across 34 countries, providing rich insights into how politicians are buying influence.
16.08.2019
The ads were uncovered by transparency researchers using ad.watch, a tool that visualises the data provided by Facebook on political advertising.
30.11.2019
The website, which took over four months’ work for the first release, is valuable to anyone, from an investigative journalist to a commoner trying to decipher political narratives.
12.08.2019
Two researchers have created an easy to use searchable visual database of political advertising on Facebook from across 34 countries, providing rich insights into how politicians are buying influence.
01.08.2019
Three years after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which user data was used to target political ads, someone has finally made a way for ordinary people to learn which political campaign ads are being posted on Facebook all around the world.
31.07.2019
Mit viel Interaktivität berichtet ad.watch über eine politische Werbekampagne, der rumänische Ausgewanderte im Internet momentan ausgesetzt sind. Aufgegliedert nach Parteien, Zielgruppen, verwendetem Werbegeld und Zielregion – so hat guter Datenjournalismus auszusehen!
10.08.2019
O ad.watch monitoriza os gastos dos políticos em propaganda digital, numa altura em que as disputas eleitorais também se fazem a nível do acesso aos dados pessoais.
08.08.2019
אם בעבר הפוליטיקאים התחרו ביניהם על שלטי החוצות והמרפסות, כעת התחרות נמצאת ברשתות החברתיות - ופייסבוק בראשן. ניתוח שהגיע לידי "גלובס" חושף את היקף ההשקעה של הפוליטיקאים בעמודים הרשמיים שלהם, מי הכי אפקטיבי, ולמה גל הפרסום הגדול עדיין לפנינו.
02.08.2019
Devant le manque de transparence de Facebook vis-à-vis des publicités des partis politiques sur sa plateforme, une équipe de deux chercheurs a décidé de prendre les choses en main.
15.08.2019
Le Commissaire à l'enfance a qualifié la pratique "irresponsable" de cibler les jeunes.
08.10.2019
ad.watch se propone desafiar el ecosistema cerrado de la propaganda política en redes sociales como Facebook e Instagram a través de la creación de una interfaz que permite explorar y estudiar la forma en que se promocionan en ellas ideas y propuesta políticas
21.08.2019
Το facebook δεν έχει κίνητρο για να κάνει πιο διαφανή την διαφήμιση στις ιστοσελίδες του. Κι αυτό λόγω του επιχειρηματικού του μοντέλου. Το facebook, τελικά, είναι μία υποδομή για μάρκετινγκ. Προσαρμόζεται σε ό,τι είναι κερδοφόρο στο ψηφιακό μάρκετινγκ» λέει ο Μπελτράν.
20.09.2019
For instance, the ad.watch data shows parties are running the most ads in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province that’s crucial to forming government. But the Liberals are running almost as many ads targeting Alberta residents, despite most political observers writing off the party’s chances in that province.
11.06.2020
Der spanische Netzaktivist Manuel Beltran im virtuellen Austausch mit seiner indischen Künstlerkollegin Nayantara Ranganathan – in der gemeinsamen Ausstellungsarbeit im Grazer ESC-Medien Kunst Labor beleuchtet das Künstlerduo soziale Medien als gierige Datenkraken und Plattform für subtile Kampagnen aller Art.
19.12.2019
The installation, Seasons of Persuasion, presents a different visualisation of the political data campaign, where a circle of innumerable bubbles in varying colours on four different screens is displayed to represent each second of political advertising for each day on social media.
exhibitions
the lab at exhibitions
Asuntos de nuestro espacio, curated by Cristian Reynaga, was an exhibition about social dynamics, technology and politics. The exhibition sought to explore the relationships between public, physical and digital spaces. Presented in Buenos Aires during the run-up to the latest Argentinian elections.
Buenos Aires, Argentina ▸ September 2019
The Glass Room is a public intervention that provides an interactive, fun, and challenging experience, bringing to life the most pressing challenges facing people and the tech industry today. The Lab presented electoral interfaces in addition to browsable stories about paid discorses around subjects such as tech regulation, medicare and the presidential candidates.
San Francisco, United States of America ▸ October 2019
Real Time Tactics, curated by Mila Samdub with Khoj International Artists' Association, sought to question how oppositional politics can make contestations in the sociotechnical construction of the present. At a time when the future, a site that used to be a contestation between alternative political visions, has been replaced by a continual present coproduced by the state and corporations.
New Delhi, India ▸ December 2019
CYBORG SUBJECTS calls for a discussion of digital, networked technological systems in order to assume our responsibility as cyborgs, to continuously review and question the development and application status, and to reflect on the potential and the dangers in order to be able to determine the use and handling of new technologies. For this exhibition we developed Counterpublics, the Lab's infrastructure for collection and liberation of ads.
Graz, Austria ▸ June-July 2020
Elevate is an annual interdisciplinary festival that combines critical political discourse with contemporary music and art. Persuasion Lab was developed during a Reimagine Europe residency at the Elevate Festival 2020, and hosted at esc medien kunst labor.
Graz, Austria ▸ March 2020
Insomnia Festival combines new music with new technology and design through public seminars, live concerts, dj/club events, seminar, workshops, exhibitions, performance, installations and debates. The lab presented ad.watch along with data stories tailored for the context.
Tromsø, Norway ▸ Jun 6 2020
Information Superpower at Graphic Matters sought to invite reflection to graphics and visual images in our physical and digital world, through organising a festival with a programme of exhibitions, workshops, talkshows and events. Persuasion Lab presented tailor-made interfaces and stories exploring narratives about the climate crisis paid for by European political actors and companies.
Breda, Netherlands ▸ Jun 6 2020
talks
videos of talks by the lab
One of the reasons that political ads on Facebook and other platforms have had such deep and widespread consequences is because the companies have withheld information about their workings. The lab, previously ad.watch, present the hurdles faced, from the architecture of the archive to the developments in-platform policies.
Oct 20 2019
En el marco de la exhibición Asuntos de nuestro espacio, curada por Cristian Reynaga en el Centro Cultural Rojas (Buenos Aires), se llevó adelante un conversatorio con la temática "Simetrías y asimetrías entre usuarios y corporaciones", conceptualizada por Carolina Aliotta y moderada por Cristian Reynaga.
May 6 2019