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USA-WIRELESS-VOTE
2.2 million Facebook and Instagram ads rejected ahead of US vote: FB
PARIS, Oct 17, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – 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Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn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.
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.
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 specialised media,
including five in France, on the verification of information”, he
added.
AFP 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 seven 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.”
BSS/AFP/MRU/2103hrs