Facebook will not accept new political ads in the week leading up to the US presidential election

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Facebook is no stranger to issues regarding politics, and now, the company has announced that it will not accept new political ads in the week before the US presidential election on November 3. This information comes as part of a larger announcement from Mark Zuckerberg.

In the Facebook post, Zuckerberg notes that political campaigns that have already set up ad campaigns prior to the week before will still be able to run those ads, so if we’re being honest, this news is only partially good. Advertisers will also be able to adjust ad targeting regardless of the timeframe. Zuckerberg notes that blocking new ads in the final week leading to the election will help keep misleading campaigns from running.

In addition to the news about political ads, Zuckerberg also notes that Facebook will expand its voter suppression policies, noting that posts that include misleading or misrepresented information will now also be removed. One example given is that posts that include hearsay like “I hear anybody with a driver’s license gets a ballot this year,” will be removed.

Facebook will also limit the number of posts you can share with people over Messenger that includes “misinformation and harmful content.” You can still share it over Messenger, but if you are spamming it to everyone on your Friends List, Facebook will stop you.

Other information in the post looks to increase efforts of removing conspiracy theories and harmful groups from the platform, increasing information for how to vote (either in-person or by mail), and that posts related to Covid-19 scare tactics regarding voting will be flagged and, in some instances, removed.

If you are interested in learning more about each of these points, make sure to read Zuck’s post here.

What do you think? Are you concerned about how social media will be used in the weeks leading up to the election? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.