Facebook says it’s going to be taking steps over the next two months to encourage voting, minimize misinformation, and reduce the likelihood of post-election ‘civil unrest’.
The company says it will restrict new political ads in the week before the election and remove posts that convey misinformation about the Novel Coronavirus, or voting. It will also attach links to official results to posts from candidates and campaigns that declare premature victories, according to Facebook officials.
“This election is not going to be business as usual. We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Thursday. “That means helping people register and vote, clearing up confusion about how this election will work, and taking steps to reduce the chances of violence and unrest.”
Social media platforms have been scrutinized for their handling of misinformation in recent years. As an example, Facebook has been criticized for not fact-checking political ads or limiting how they can be targeted at small groups of people.
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