Topline
Facebook has announced it will prohibit advertising that seeks to “delegitimize” the U.S. election — including ads making allegations of widespread voting fraud or denouncing legitimate voting methods as inherently fraudulent or corrupt — marking yet another concession to critics who decry the platform’s rampant misinformation problem and lax fact-checking policies for political ads.
Facebook has banned political ads seeking to 'delegitimize' the U.S. election, including those ... [+]
Key Facts
Ahead of the upcoming U.S. election on November 3, Facebook on Wednesday announced that it would be banning any ads that aim to “delegitimize” an election, effective immediately.
The ban, which also covers Instagram, would prohibit ads that: “Portray voting… as meaningless”, delegitimize any lawful voting method — including voting by mail — as inherently fraudulent or corrupt, claim that voter fraud is widespread, and that seek to delegitimize an election because the result cannot be determined on the final day of voting or before ballots received after the final day of voting are counted.
The policy change came a day after the U.S. presidential debate where President Donald Trump continued to spout baseless claims of voter fraud that could undermine the outcome of the election.
The changes build on earlier restrictions the company introduced last week that prohibited ads making premature declarations of victory, and is a further weakening of the company’s hardline position that it would not police the truthfulness of political advertising.
Crucial Quote
Rob Leathern, a Facebook director of product management, announced the policy changes in a tweet: “As we get closer to Election Day we want to provide further clarity on policies we recently announced. Last week we said we’d prohibit ads that make premature declarations of victory. We also won’t allow ads with content that seeks to delegitimize the outcome of an election”.
Key Background
Facebook’s lax fact-checking policies have been under increasing fire , as critics have warned that the platform has become an apparent safe haven for political falsehoods and lies in an election season characterized by rampant misinformation. On the eve of the first presidential debate, the Biden campaign took Facebook to task — publicly — over its repeated failure to enforce its policies governing misinformation. In a letter to the company, obtained by Axios, campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon called out the company’s ongoing inertia: “Rather than seeing progress, we have seen regression. Facebook’s continued promise of future action is serving as nothing more than an excuse for inaction...By now Mr. Trump clearly understands that Facebook will not hold him to their clearly stated policies.” O’Malley Dillon said the Biden campaign would continue to call out the company’s “failures as they occur over the coming 36 days.”
Further Reading
Facebook says it won’t back down from allowing lies in political ads (New York Times)
