Facebook promises to add informative tag to content aimed at delegitimizing results (representation)
San Francisco:
Facebook said on Thursday it would ban all new political advertising the week before the U.S. election, one of its most sweeping measures to date against disinformation, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg warning of “risk of civil unrest “after the vote.
The social media giant has vowed to verify premature victory claims, stating that if a candidate tries to claim the winner before the final votes are counted, “we’ll add a tag to their posts to direct people to the official results. . “
And he promised to “add an informative label” to any content that seeks to delegitimize the results or to claim that “legal voting methods” will lead to fraud.
Facebook has also started limiting its widely used Messenger service to only allow uses of forwarding missives to only five people or groups at a time “to help curb the efforts of those seeking to wreak havoc, wreak havoc, uncertainty or inadvertently undermining specific information “.
“Anyone who says the election is going to be fraudulent, I think that’s problematic,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with CBS Thursday.
The moves follow strong criticism of Facebook’s handling of the 2016 presidential election, when it failed to curb disinformation from Russian agents who spread conspiracy theories and discourage voting in some cases.
The United States is bracing for what is expected to be a deadly campaign season amid the coronavirus pandemic and mass racial justice protests that have led to violent conflict in some cities between rights groups civics and armed vigilantes of the right.
“Facebook’s announcements regarding disinformation about police voting, including politicians, and advocating for a fair election are significant improvements and follow a lot of pressure from the civil rights community,” said Vanita Gupta, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
“But everything – any impact – depends on the application. We will remain vigilant.”
But Tom Fitton, chairman of the conservative activist group Judicial Watch, condemned the move.
“RIGGED? Facebook is going further to the left and will remove ‘new’ ads in the week leading up to the election,” Fitton said on Twitter. “This is a mind-boggling effort to control what FB users see at a crucial time and raises concerns about the First Amendment.”
– Old announcements not affected –
Zuckerberg has long favored a largely hands-off approach to candidate statements, but he said a new policy was needed for last-minute ads because “in the dying days of an election it may not be. there isn’t enough time to challenge new claims. “
The restrictions do not affect political ads published more than a week before polling day that gave opposing candidates ample opportunity to rebut inaccurate information.
Democrats have warned President Donald Trump and his supporters could attempt to wreak havoc with false claims on November 3.
The United States remains the epicenter of the world‘s worst coronavirus outbreak, and voters are expected to move to postal voting in unprecedented numbers to reduce the risk of exposure.
As a result, the final tally may not be revealed until well after voting day – the increased risk of paranoia and rumors could reach an all-time high.
Trump – a prolific social media user who follows Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the polls – recently fell into a den of conspiracy theories filled with fierce claims that he is the victim of a coup and is considering faking polls.
On Wednesday night, Trump encouraged voters in North Carolina to vote twice, which is illegal. It is also a crime to solicit someone to vote twice, according to the state Council for Elections.
Trump opposed more funding for the cash-strapped USPS (USPS), acknowledging the money would be used to help process the ballots.
And he refused to condemn the presence of armed vigilantes on the streets during social justice protests across America this summer, sparking fears of unrest if election results are not swift and clear.
Opponents say Trump’s increasingly extreme resistance to expanded mail-in voting is an attempt to suppress the turnout while creating an excuse to challenge the outcome if defeated.
Zuckerberg said he and his wife donated $ 300 million to groups working with election officials to provide protective gear or other resources to polling officials.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
