Facebook will suspend political advertising after polls close in US election

FACEBOOK will stop running political adverts in the US after polls close in the presidential election for an undetermined period of time.

The social media site said the ban will last for at least a week, and it will also prevent political ads in the week leading up to Election Day.

The new safeguards for the 2020 US elections make Facebook better prepared to deal with candidates who prematurely declare victory or contest official results and the possibility of voter intimidation by alleged – and potentially armed – “poll watchers”, the company said.

In addition, posts that cast doubt on election results will be labelled with links to official information.

The social network giant has already banned messages that promote carrying of weapons to polling places or that attempt to organise “coordinated interference” with voting.

Now the company says it will also ban the use of “militarised language” in connection with calls for poll-watching.

Under the new policy, which is not retroactive, US President Donald Trump will not be able to encourage supporters to be unofficial poll watchers as part of an “army for Trump”, as he said in a tweet this week.

The changes – less than three weeks before Election Day and with voting happening already – show how quickly social media companies must respond to existing and anticipated threats to the election process.

Mr Trump’s campaign and its Republican allies have been going to new lengths to contest election procedures and question the integrity of postal ballots.