FACEBOOK REMOVES TRUMP AD DISGUISED AS CENSUS MESSAGE

SAN FRANCISCO: FACE BOOK has taken down an ad from President Donald Trump’s campaign which critics said misled people into believing it was an official message about the US census.

The ads encouraged readers to “take the official 2020 Congressional District Census,” but clicking on the messages directed users to a Trump campaign website.

Facebook has been under pressure from activists who have said its hand-off policy on political messages enables the proliferation of misinformation.

But the leading social network has also said that as part of its fact-checking operation it would take down any ads or posts which mislead users about the census being conducted this year.

“There are policies in place to prevent confusion around the official US Census and this is an example of those being enforced,” Facebook said.

The ads directed users to a survey asking people’s views of Trump as well as their age, name, and contact information, and then appealed for a donation.

Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, who worked with Facebook on its census policies, said the social network confirmed the removal of the ads.

“While we’re gratified that Facebook shut down Trump’s attempt to sow confusion about how and when to participate in the 2020 Census, it’s disturbing that the ads weren’t immediately removed,” Gupta said in a statement.

BLOOMBERG PLANS NEW ENTITY TO BOOST BIDEN

Michael Bloomberg plans a new organisation with offices in six battleground states to help Joe Biden beat Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination and then defeat US President Donald Trump in November, his campaign has said.

The new entity will also work to elect Democrats in races for Congress and state seats.