Also out of fear of fatal clashes, Facebook has announced a political advertising ban for US election day. The company fears intimidation and misinformation on its platforms.
The US internet company Facebook wants to take action against misleading information about the outcome of the US presidential election with a ban on advertising. Shortly after the polls closed on November 3rd, the leading online network should not run any advertisements for political or social issues related to the polls, the company said.
Entries that prematurely declared one of the candidates the winner or that cast doubt on the counting results would be provided with references to reliable information from the media and electoral authorities, Facebook managers said at a press conference. It is expressly informed that "the counting has not yet been completed and no winner has yet been determined".
Facebook did not give a specific period for the stop: advertisers will be informed when it is lifted. The network is also concerned that before the official results are announced, a candidate could declare himself the winner or fail to recognize the election result and encourage his supporters to resist. As advertisements, corresponding contributions could be brought into the news streams of users on a large scale and thus contribute to polarization in the population.
Greater attention
For the last few days before the polls, "an increase in efforts to intimidate voters" is to be expected, said a manager. Facebook will therefore remove entries that call "in military language" to go to a polling station. Posts calling on people to carry weapons when voting or not to vote had already been banned in the past.
US President Donald Trump wants to be confirmed in office. The Democratic ex-Vice President Joe Biden competes against him. Trump has repeatedly refused to accept the official election result in any case. He warns against manipulation through the possibility of postal voting, which this time especially many citizens use due to the corona pandemic. Because of the large number of postal voters, it could be a particularly long time this year before the election winner is determined.
In the 2016 US election, Facebook was massively misused for misleading campaigns. As a result, the US company was repeatedly accused of being too lax with misleading content. With a view to the upcoming presidential election, Facebook now assured that it was "better prepared than ever before".
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