Sep 21, 2017

09/21/2017: Facebook’s ad trouble, explained

Facebook has admitted to problems with ad metrics for the 10th time since September. Above, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The drip-drip-drip of news about Russia and the 2016 election continues today. A week or so ago, Facebook said it sold about $100,000 worth of ads to a so-called Russian "troll farm." Today, the company announced it would show the ads to the government. Meanwhile, the company is working to improve its advertising process after ProPublica revealed users could target ads with anti-Semitic keywords. We'll start today's show by explaining all the fires Facebook is fighting. Then: all of Puerto Rico is still without power today, and it could take months to restore service. The utility was already $9 billion in debt. Plus: Google's latest hardware play.

Segments From this episode

Shelf Life

Preserving America's movie going history

by Kai Ryssdal and Emily Henderson

Sep 21, 2017

Photographer Amy Davis talks about her photo book on the fate of historic movie theaters.

Filmgoers queueing to see Fritz Lang's film 'Man Hunt' in 1941.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Frankfurt readies for possible influx of London bankers

by Stephen Beard

Sep 21, 2017

Frankfurt hopes to draw London bankers post-Brexit but some residents have concerns.

Europa Allee, a broad avenue in the center of the city, is one likely destination for the Brexit bankers. Luxury apartment blocks, hotels, shops and leisure centers have been springing up there for more than five years.

Stephen Beard/Marketplace

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Facebook fights fires on multiple fronts

by Adriene Hill

Sep 21, 2017

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that the company will give congressional investigators thousands of social and political ads from accounts associated with a Russian organization known as the Internet Research Agency. And while Zuckerberg was busy detailing that decision, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, has been dealing with another tricky issue. ProPublica recently […]

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What is EDGAR and why do we care if it was hacked?

by Kai Ryssdal and Robert Garrova

Sep 21, 2017

The SEC believes "illicit trading" might have occurred after the breach.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seal hangs on the facade of its building in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Why are so many potential workers sitting on the sidelines in this economy?

by Mitchell Hartman

Sep 21, 2017

The headline unemployment rate we report every month from the Labor Department has been consistently low. According to economists we’re at or near what’s considered full employment.Employers have a record number of job openings, about 6 million right now, and say they can’t find workers to fill them, especially in fields like manufacturing and construction. […]

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Puerto Rico faces tough choices in restoring power supply

by Aaron Schrank

Sep 21, 2017

The entire island of Puerto Rico is still without power today in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Local officials said it could take months to repair the damage and restore full service. And it won’t be easy. The utility was already around $9 billion in debt before the hurricane and had filed for bankruptcy earlier […]

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Google makes a $1 billion bet on hardware

by Ryan Kailath

Sep 21, 2017

In the everything old is new again department, Google is betting big on hardware. The company already bought and sold Motorola in the past five years and now Google’s announced it’ll pay $1.1 billion for a chunk of HTC. To be clear Google’s not acquiring the company here. It’s acqui-hiring pretty much the entire engineering […]

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The drip-drip-drip of news about Russia and the 2016 election continues today. A week or so ago, Facebook said it sold about $100,000 worth of ads to a so-called Russian “troll farm.” Today, the company announced it would show the ads to the government. Meanwhile, the company is working to improve its advertising process after ProPublica revealed users could target ads with anti-Semitic keywords. We’ll start today’s show by explaining all the fires Facebook is fighting. Then: all of Puerto Rico is still without power today, and it could take months to restore service. The utility was already $9 billion in debt. Plus: Google’s latest hardware play.

Music from the episode

Changes 2Pac, Talent

Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers) - Radio Edit Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers

My Sentiment Universal Togetherness Band

Oye Como Va Santana

Young Folks Peter Bjorn and John

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