US elections

2.2 million Facebook, Instagram ads rejected ahead of US election

Agence France-Presse

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2.2 million Facebook, Instagram ads rejected ahead of US election

People walk by the New York Stock Exchange in lower Manhattan on October 2, 2020. Stocks and markets around the world have fallen in morning trading as investors digest the overnight news that President Donald Trump has Covid-19. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

AFP

The move comes as Facebook increases efforts to avoid a repeat of events leading up to the 2016 US presidential election, when the network was used for attempts at voter manipulation

A total of 2.2 million ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the upcoming US presidential election, Facebook’s vice president Nick Clegg said in an interview published Sunday, October 18. 

In addition, warnings were posted on 150 million examples of false information posted online, the former British deputy prime minister told the French weekly Journal du Dimanche.

Facebook has been increasing its efforts to avoid a repeat of events leading up to the 2016 US presidential election, won by Donald Trump, when its network was used for attempts at voter manipulation, carried out from Russia.

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There were similar problems ahead of Britain’s 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union.

“Thirty-five thousand employees take care of the security of our platforms and contribute for elections,” said Clegg, who is vice president of global affairs and communications at Facebook. 

“We have established partnerships with 70 specialized media, including 5 in France, on the verification of information”, he added.

Agence France-Presse is one of those partners.

Clegg added that the company also uses artificial intelligence which has “made it possible to delete billions of posts and fake accounts, even before they are reported by users.”

Facebook also stores all advertisements and information on their funding and provenance for 7 years “to insure transparency,” he said.

In 2016, while he was still deputy prime minister, Clegg complained to the Journal du Dimanche that Facebook had not identified or suppressed a single foreign network interfering in the US election.

On Wednesday President Trump rebuked Facebook and Twitter for blocking links to a New York Post article purporting to expose corrupt dealings by election rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine.

A day earlier Facebook announced a ban on ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated, in light of the coronavirus pandemic which the social media giant said has “highlighted the importance of preventive health behaviors.” – Rappler.com

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