Integrity of elections and social media

Facts are critical, especially during an election season when dishonest and unsubstantiated claims can unduly influence an electorate’s decision. Facts are sacrosanct and yet they are hard to sift through the flood of prejudice and falsehood that often inundates the social media. Facebook’s decision to temporarily stop political advertisements in the US on its platform in the run-up to the presidential elections is, therefore, noteworthy. There is an understandable nervousness about paid-for political reach. And why not. Social media can undermine the integrity of elections — even in an advanced country such as the US, as we have seen before. So, is this move too little, too late, considering the enormous influence this platform wields on the people and the choices they make?

The social media giant has been reluctant to interfere with paid-for political speeches even when Twitter banned political advertisements on its platform last year. The dark world of the Web is beyond comprehension for most of us. There is opacity in how political advertising is funded. We are not sure how personal data is harvested and used. The largely unregulated space of social media has provided individuals and political leaders with a megaphone and digital reach that cannot be compared to our physical world. With no one to check facts, or don the role of an arbiter of truth, the lack of unaccountability afforded to users isn’t good for any society. All social media platforms should ban political advertisements for good. Let the good deeds of leaders do the talking.