Facebook said on Thursday, January 9, 2020, that it would continue to let political campaigns target advertisements at particular groups of voters and would not check whether those messages were true.
The move, laid out in a blog post, put the company at odds with rival platforms. Twitter’s chief executive, Jack Dorsey, had barred all political advertising from his network in late October, and Google had followed by limiting political ads across parts of its properties.
“In the absence of regulation, Facebook and other companies are left to design their own policies,” said Rob Leathern, Facebook’s director of product management for advertising integrity. “We have based ours on the principle that people should be able to hear from those who wish to lead them, warts and all, and that what they say should be scrutinized and debated in public.”
Leathern added that the company did not believe private companies should decide such rules.
The Trump campaign, which by then had put over $27 million into the platform, backed the decision. “Our ads are always accurate so it’s good that Facebook won’t limit political messages because it encourages more Americans to be involved in the process,” said Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the campaign.
Democratic candidates objected to the policy. “Facebook is paying for its own glowing fake news coverage, so it’s not surprising they’re standing their ground on letting political figures lie to you,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said.
Facebook said it would add transparency features to its ad library and a control that lets users see fewer political and social issue ads.
Sources
- Facebook Says It Won’t Back Down From Allowing Lies in Political Ads – The New York Times
- Facebook doubles down on letting politicians lie in ads – CNET
