Social-Media
Facebook VP claims the site has refused more than 2 million advertisements for attempting to block elections.
Facebook Vice President for Global Affairs Nick5-007 said the organization had declined 2.2 million advertisements through Facebook and Instagram because the advertisements were seeking to "obstruct elections" in the forthcoming US presidential election, Agence France-Presse reported. The social media giant also pulled 120,000 posts and warned 150 million posts for the same reasons, he said.
The comments were taken in an interview with the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche. He said Facebook used artificial intelligence that enabled the deletion of billions of messages and false accounts even before users were reported and noted that the company had collaborated with 70 media outlets, including five in France, to verify details.
Facebook launched this fact-checking service in the wake of the 2016 elections and added it to Instagram last year. Since then, the program has extended to include Facebook forums, where disinformation is often spread.
The fact-checking program had mixed results, however, with the early partners Snopes and ABC leaving the partnership.
And last week's Wall Street Journal study shows how far Facebook has gone to try to allay conservatives who also argue about alleged prejudice in their algorithm. According to the WSJ, Facebook proposed improvements to its news feed algorithm in 2017 to reduce the exposure of content from left-leaning news outlets like Mother Jones on its website, with the consent of CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Facebook took more measures to try to minimize the possible confusion on and after 3 November. The site would ban advertisements that falsely assert victory in the US presidential race, or advertising that assert rampant electoral fraud may change the election outcome. Facebook will still refuse Donald Trump's or Joe Biden's ads if any they want to win early. In the week before the election, new campaign advertisements are banned.
