With its latest IPO offering, Facebook, in particular, has seen a surge of conspiracy theories about it tracking its users in order to increase advertorial revenue.
One day in September, Plouffe asked Messina if he could find seven million dollars more in the budget for a thirty-minute advertorial that was to air on the Wednesday before Election Day.
Less than 12 hours elapsed from the time the advertorial went live until The Atlantic pulled it down in response to mounting cries of protest from social media and blogs. (You can still see the full original advertorial here.) This morning, the magazine explained its actions in a statement.