Facebook- the leading social media giant has informed that it will ban false information related to voting requirements and fast-check faker reports of violence or long lines at polling stations ahead of next month’s U.S. midterm elections, the latest effort to lessen voter manipulation is on its service.
The world’s most extensive online social network, with 1.5 billion daily active users, has stopped short of prohibiting all false or misleading contents, something that Facebook has shied away from as it would likely grow its expenses and leave it open to charges of censorship.
The latest step addresses a sensitive area for the company, which has come under fire for its negligent approach to false news reports and disinformation campaigns, which many believe affected the result of the 2016 AD presidential election, won by Donald Trump.
The new plan was revealed by Facebook’s cybersecurity policy chief, Nathaniel Gleicher, and other company executives.
The forbid on fake information about voting methods, set to be launched later on Monday. Comes 42 days after Senator Ron Wyden asked Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg how Facebook would counter posts intended at suppressing votes, such as by informing specific users they could vote by text, a hoax that has been exploited to decrease turnout in the past.
“We don’t believe we should delete stuff from Facebook that is shared by authentic people if they don’t violate those community standards, even if they are false,” told Tessa Lyons, product manager for Facebook’s News Feed feature that displays users what friends are sharing.
Just a few days back, Facebook said it exposed a coordinated political influence campaign to mislead its users and spread dissension among voters, deleting 32 pages and accounts from Facebook and Instagram. Members of Congress briefed by Facebook informed the methodology suggested Russian involvement.