GME3: Betting the House, Court Cans Coercion Claim, & A New Type of Political Influence?

In this week’s edition of the GME3 we’re looking at a gambling scandal rocking the UK political sphere, a verdict in the Supreme Court case regarding the Biden administration’s efforts to increase content moderation on social media, and a new wave of government advertising in Canada using influencers to spread the word about important information to the public. Read the full stories below!

Gambling

Betting the House

The UK Gambling Commission has launched a full investigation into multiple politicians, as well as several police officers, who placed bets on the upcoming national election. 

The story originally broke late last week, when it was revealed that Conservative Party candidate Laura Saunders is being investigated for alleged betting offences. Specifically, Saunders is being accused of placing a bet on the timing of the general election (which has been set for July 4th if you’re curious). Saunders’ husband, and Conservative Party’s director of campaigning, Tony Lee was also placed under investigation by the Commission for similar allegations. He has since taken a leave of absence from his position in the party.

However, Saunders was not the first to be put under the microscope – Craig Williams, a (now former) aide to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak allegedly placed a £100 bet on the election taking place in July only three days before the official announcement. Party support has now officially been pulled for both Saunders and Williams, though due to the immediacy of the election, they will remain on the ballots.

The story continued to develop from there, when, on Sunday, it was revealed that a police officer working on the prime minister’s security staff had been arrested in connection to the matter. At this point, things were looking bad for the Conservatives, with the Labour Party (the UK’s other main political party) calling it an example of the “cronyism” that, according to them, runs rampant in the Conservative camp. 

And it only got worse from there! The Conservative’s chief data officer, Nick Mason, is now also under investigation in relation to the matter and no less than five additional police officers have been implicated in the betting scandal. These officers all work in positions close to the center of UK politics, such as providing protection for royalty, politicians and diplomats.

The main concern in the investigation is the abuse of insider knowledge. Betting on election timing and outcomes is perfectly legal in the UK, but doing so with the advantage of insider information is not. These actions will definitely harm the Conservative’s chances in the election, which didn’t look good to begin with according to experts.

In a final ironic development, one member of the Labour Party has been caught up in his own, unrelated, betting scandal. Kevin Craig, the Labour candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich has been suspended after placing a bet on himself to lose the upcoming election. Craig explained that he “thought [he] would never win this seat, and [he] put a bet on the Tories to win here with the intention of giving any winnings to local charities.”

The UK Gambling Commission’s investigation into betting by politicians and police officers has severely impacted the Conservative Party’s election prospects, with key members, as well as several police officers, under scrutiny. Hopefully we won’t see similar issues with a 2025 federal election looming here in Canada.

Media

Court Cans Coercion Claim

The United States Supreme Court has thrown out the case alleging that the Biden administration unlawfully coerced social media companies into removing contentious content.

In a 6-3 vote, the court found that plaintiffs did not have standing to sue in part because they had failed to adequately allege that the content moderation at issue was a result of government actions. In writing for the majority opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett argues that “the plaintiffs, Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, along with five social media users, had failed to show they had suffered harm at the hands of specific government officials.” She further noted that content moderation was already a common practice on social media platforms far before any alleged coercion occurred, and some even strengthened their pre-existing content moderation policies before the government defendants got involved in the process.

The plaintiffs also failed to demonstrate that any content enforcement occurred as a direct result of government influence. For example, it was alleged that a Louisiana state representative’s Facebook post about the COVID-19 vaccine was restricted because of government intervention. No evidence to support this claim was ever presented.

The three dissenters – Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch – have since released a biting rebuttal. Alito maintains that the government’s actions in this case were “blatantly unconstitutional,” and that the majority opinion “permits the successful campaign of coercion in this case to stand as an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear and think.”  Jenin Younes, a lawyer who represents the individual plaintiffs in the case, argues that the court has “green-lighted the government’s unprecedented censorship regime.”

This decision underscores the ongoing debate over the balance between government influence and free speech on social media platforms, highlighting the challenges in proving direct government coercion in content moderation.

Entertainment

A New Type of Political Influence?

If you’re an influencer who’s feeling sad that you may have missed your chance to work in the public sector, worry not!  According to a report published by the Canadian Press, the federal government has spent over $1.7 million on influencer marketing campaigns over the past 3 years. These campaigns have included paying local influencers to take “staycations” in Saskatoon (the City of Bridges) as well as general topics, like health and travel.

Federal agencies like Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada have all made use of influencer marketing in the past 3 years. Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada make up the majority of the marketing spend, with a combined $1.3 million in influencer-related costs. Influencers have been used to spread information about the COVID-19 vaccine, food safety, safe cannabis use, dementia prevention, sexual health, mental health resources, and more.

In a conference earlier this month, Treasury Board President Anita Anand argued that this approach has two main benefits – (1) social media is a better method of reaching young Canadians, and (2) engaging with people over social media will directly combat the spread of misinformation on these platforms.

The Canadian federal government seems to have embraced influencer marketing. This trend is set to continue, as the government recognizes the effectiveness of social media in reaching younger Canadians and combating misinformation. So, rest assured influencers, your skills are in demand and can contribute significantly to public sector initiatives.