Questions raised over Facebook’s policy to cut election misinformation

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Picture: AFP/JOSH EDELSONFacebook’s final policy changes in the lead-up to US elections in November are unlikely to stem a flood of disinformation around the vote, which could suppress turnout and sow confusion about results, election experts said on Friday.

The company billed the announcement as its final plan for reducing the risks of misinformation and election interference. Eric Wilson, a Republican digital strategist, said Facebook’s failure to catch a militia group organising on its platform around Kenosha, Wisconsin, last week — despite users flagging the material 455 times, as BuzzFeed reported — cast doubt on its ability to moderate election-related content.

But some election officials voiced frustration that political advertising restrictions would also be applied to them, especially in the critical final week. Two groups representing election officials, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, said they are seeking clarity from Facebook on whether officials would be granted an exemption to run ads about voting protocols in the final week.

Others questioned why Facebook would allow advertisers to resume placing ads the day after the election, given the concerns Zuckerberg articulated about confusion likely to follow if results are not immediately clear.

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