It got weirder. A label was added that tagged the story as “sponsored” editorial. Then the label disappeared. Then the story disappeared.

I dug into the mystery with my colleague Rachel Abrams. The article was, in fact, a piece of paid content. Teen Vogue and Facebook both said the labeling fracas was all a big misunderstanding.

On Thursday, Facebook was back to serious news: It released its policy on political ads, cementing a decision to allow lies by politicians to go unchecked and for campaigns to micro-target those ads to specific audiences.

The reaction was swift and partisan. The Trump campaign lauded the policy and other Republicans said it was an affirmation of free speech. Democrats, including the leading member of the Federal Election Commission, were angry, and said the decision was nothing short of a threat to democracy.

Will the encryption fight be rebooted?

The F.B.I. and Apple have reignited their battle over encryption. As reported by Jack Nicas and Katie Benner, the F.B.I. asked Apple for the data on two iPhones that belonged to the gunman in the shooting last month at a naval base in Pensacola, Fla., possibly setting up another showdown over law enforcement’s access to smartphones.

This is an old battle, covered almost three years ago by Katie and Matt Apuzzo, now a European investigative reporter for The Times. At the heart of the dispute is a disagreement over user privacy and national security, and we’ll be watching closely how this plays out.

Sonos takes Google to court

Antitrust enforcement of Big Tech will be a central focus for Washington regulators. And competitors are taking notice. Sonos sued Google in two federal courts. As reported by Jack Nicas and Daisuke Wakabayashi, the speaker company claims Google stole its secrets and used its market dominance to develop lower-priced speakers to squash competition.