Facebook gets tough on issue ads
Those buying spots must verify their identity and location
Facebook is instituting more changes – including increasingly stringent rules for issue ads – as steps to thwart future election interference.
The social media giant is taking a cue from lawmakers and other critics who were concerned that Facebook’s focus on political ads might result in a lack of attention to preventing election manipulation through issue ads, which on the platform proved divisive in the 2016 presidential election.
Last fall Facebook told lawmakers it would tighten policies after it revealed that thousands of ads that appeared on the social network during the 2016 election were bought by fake accounts run by a Russian troll farm.
Every advertiser who wants to run a political or issue ad on Facebook must have their identity and location verified, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Friday.
“Any advertiser who doesn’t pass will be prohibited from running political or issue ads,” he said. “We will also label them, and advertisers will have to show who paid for them. We’re starting this in the U.S. and expanding to the rest of the world in the coming months.”
Last fall, Facebook told lawmakers it would tighten its ad policies after disclosing that more than 3,000 ads were bought by 470 fake accounts and pages run by the Internet Research Agency, a shadowy organization in St. Petersburg, Russia. Those ads targeted Facebook users on hot-button subjects including gun rights, gay rights, religion, and presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Facebook said 146 million Americans saw those ads.
Friday’s announcement could allay concerns of election experts and lawmakers that ads about hot-button social issues meant to be divisive and foment voter outrage might still slip through.
Those who manage large Facebook pages will face tougher scrutiny, too, for the ads they run, Zuckerberg said.