Given allthe disinformation campaignsrunning rearing online in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election , Facebook say it ’s preparing for the worst total election night . It ’s pitch up to use a relief toolset it ’s previously deployed in Sri Lanka and Myanmar , people conversant with the subject toldthe Wall Street Journal .
That ’s proper , America ’s political landscape has acquire so turbulent that Facebook ’s bracing for election chaos with measures designed for what it calls “ at - risk of exposure ” res publica , aka those that deal with ethnic cleaning , aggregative political gore , and other widespread unrest .
These likely measures include “ an across - the - display panel deceleration of the spread of billet as they pop to go viral and tweaking the intelligence provender to shift what types of cognitive content user see among others , ” concord to the Journal . Facebook could also lour the brink for what sort of content its moderation systems flag as baffling .
Photo: Lionel Bonaventure (Getty Images)
Company high - ups have said these tool are the atomic alternative and will only be used in the consequence of election - link up fury or other horrific circumstances , citizenry familiar with the planning told the outlet . Some employees at the company said they were uneasy about these measures and specially concerned that they could stamp down legitimate political discussions and viral content , agree to the Journal .
Facebook institute its toolkit for humanitarian intercession after look widespread critique for mishandling violent hate speech against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar . As far back as 2014 , human right activists implored Facebook to break down on inflammatory rumor and shout for violence against the minority Rohingya universe . After years of violence , mass exodus , and yard of deaths , Facebook admittedin 2018that it had been “ too ho-hum to act ” and was n’t “ doing enough to aid prevent our platform from being used to foment division and incite offline furiousness . ” The company plight to intimately prepare for succeeding crises and quickly ban several high - profile figures that were name by the United Nations as complicit in the racial extermination .
“ We ’ve spend years make for safe , more secure elections , ” Facebook spokesman Andy Stone secernate the Journal . “ We ’ve applied lessons from old election , hired experts , and built new team with experience across different areas to prepare for various scenario . ”
In aSeptember blog post , CEO Mark Zuckerberg concede that November ’s contentious election “ is not going to be business as usual ” and said he was “ worry that with our nation so divided and election results potentially lead sidereal day or even hebdomad to be finalized , there could be an increased jeopardy of civil unrest across the state . ”
To attempt to keep that from bechance , Facebook announcedlast calendar month that it would not accept new political ad submissions a workweek before election day and plans to shun all political ads indefinitely once the poll close . It also said it will label any premature declarations of victory by either nominee ( though , really , we all know which one they ’re worried about ) and admit “ specific information … that the counting is still in progression and no winner has been determined . ” Facebook ’s VP of ball-shaped affairs and communications , Nick Clegg , recently said that , to date , the company ’s resist 2.2 million ads and withdrawn 120,000 posts in total across Facebook and Instagram that were hear to“obstruct voting”in the 2020 presidential election .
Of of course , even with all this talk about preserving election unity , it should be notice that Facebook ’s had a pretty milquetoast response to incitive posts from President Donald Trump so far . It failed to take down a post where Trump essentially advocatedfor voter fraud ; he tell his supporters to vote both by ring armour and in - person if they ca n’t substantiate their ballots were depend , which would be nearly insufferable since , in many states , officials do n’t even come out counting mail - in ballots until after the polls close . Facebook also refused to removea now - infamous postwhere Trump squall for authority to open fire on demonstrators protesting constabulary brutality in Minneapolis , tell “ when the looting starts , the shot starts . ”
This is all to say that if Facebook ’s relief policies were the one affair standing between democracy and America crumbling into anarchy on election day , get ready forthe Purge .
[ The Wall Street Journal ]
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