As America prepares for what is sure to be a game-changing election in November, social media giant and modern-day information hub, Facebook, has announced new changes to its platform. In a bid to fight against election manipulation, the social media giant aims to block hate speech, tackle misinformation of voters and the public on matters dealing with the elections, protect its users against discrimination, among other goals leading up to the polls.
The announcement was made via a Facebook post from founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who explained the importance of the new updates giving the “complexities of voting during a pandemic and protests for racial justice across the country.”
“During this moment, Facebook will take extra precautions to help everyone stay safe, stay informed, and ultimately use their voice where it matters most — voting,” he added.
New Tools and Updates
Earlier this month, the company announced a large voting information campaign with the aim of getting 4 million people to register to vote. It also created a Voting Information Center which would share authoritative information on how and when to vote. Zuckerberg revealed that the Voting Information Center will be shared at the top of the Facebook and Instagram apps in the months leading up to the presidential elections.
“Since the most dangerous voter suppression campaigns can be local and run in the days immediately before an election, we’re going to use our Elections Operations Center to quickly respond and remove false claims about polling conditions in the 72 hours leading into Election Day,” Zuckerberg wrote, addressing the issue of voter suppression.
Zuckerberg announced the company will now be banning a wider array of ads.“Specifically, we’re expanding our ads policy to prohibit claims that people from a specific race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status are a threat to physical safety, health, or survival of others,” he said.
“We’re also expanding our policies to better protect immigrants, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from ads suggesting these groups are inferior or expressing contempt, dismissal, or disgust directed at them.”
Pressured by Boycott
Facebook had recently suffered a boycott after the European company behind brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Dove announced it would boycott Facebook ads over the amount of hate speech and divisive rhetoric on its platform. Other companies such as Coca-Cola and Verizon, also joined the boycott.
