Facebook moves to curb foreign interference and misinformation ahead of 2020 presidential elections
Facebook is gearing up for the presidential elections scheduled next year in response to its poor experience with the 'political' in the past.
On Monday, October 21, the social media giant unveiled new measures to deal with the spread of false information ahead of the 2020 battle.
Facebook has in the past found itself at the receiving end after groups targeted its users for political gains, and is now leaving no stone unturned to get rid of more suspect account networks. The platform said it has taken down more networks recently that were connected to Iran and Russia to add to the 50 it had removed in the past one year.
Accounts originating in Iran, Russia
“As part of our effort to counter foreign influence campaigns, this morning we removed four separate networks of accounts, Pages and Groups on Facebook and Instagram for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior. Three of them originated in Iran and one in Russia. They targeted the US, North Africa and Latin America. We have identified these manipulation campaigns as part of our internal investigations into suspected Iran-linked inauthentic behavior, as well as ongoing proactive work ahead of the US elections,” Facebook said in its report titled ‘Helping to Protect the 2020 US Elections’.
Facebook also said the Russian network showed some links to the Kremlin-backed troll firm Internet Research Agency which was allegedly involved in interference in 2016.
The platform is under a lot of pressure to prevent a repetition of 2016 when Russian trolls used it to spread disinformation.
Its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who faced a harrowing time following the Cambridge-Analytica data scandal, said elections have changed significantly since 2016, but so has Facebook.
'A big responsibility'
"We know that we have a big responsibility to secure our platform and stay ahead of some of these new threats to election security," the 35-year-old was quoted as saying by National Public Radio. He also added that the issue is among his "top priorities."
Among the changes that Facebook announced on Monday is a feature that makes it easier for users to see who is behind the posts they see in their feeds.
A multi-pronged approach
The new measures include fighting foreign interference, increasing transparency, and curbing misinformation. The company also aims to protect the accounts of the candidates and elected officials, their teams and others through Facebook Protect.
Zuckerberg, who is set to testify before Congress on Wednesday, October 23, where he is likely to face questions on election security efforts among others, said the social media giant has become more equipped in identifying and removing attempts to mislead users.