Facebook bans new political ads in the week before Election Day
(KYMA, KECY)-Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg says they are banning new political ads for the week leading up to election day, November 3.
On Thursday, Zuckerberg said measures would be taken to prevent campaigns and their supporters from making premature claims of victory.
The decision comes as part of a series of steps addressing concerns about how Facebook could be used to manipulate the election.
“The U.S. elections are just two months away, and with Covid-19 affecting communities across the country, I'm concerned about the challenges people could face when voting,” he wrote in a note to staff members. “I'm also worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalized, there could be an increased risk of civil unrest across the country.”
He continues by adding, "This election is not going to be business as usual. Since the pandemic means that many of us will be voting by mail, and since some states may still be counting valid ballots after election day, many experts are predicting that we may not have a final result on election night.”
Facebook will also put "authoritative" election information at the top of users’ Facebook and Instagram feeds and will remove any posts that contain misinformation about voting or try to use the coronavirus pandemic to discourage voting.
Finally, Facebook says that "if any candidate or campaign tries to declare victory before the final results are in," it will "add a label to their posts directing people to the official results from Reuters."
