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- Facebook said it has rejected 2.2 million ads for trying to “obstruct voting” in the November 3 US presidential election.
- The tech giant has also taken down 120,000 posts and put warnings on 150 million posts for the same reasons, according to Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs.
- Clegg said Facebook’s AI systems could delete posts and accounts “even before they are reported by users.”
- His comments come as pressure grows on Facebook to tackle misinformation in the runup to Election Day.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Facebook has so far rejected 2.2 million ads for trying to “obstruct voting” in the US presidential election, it said Saturday.
The social media giant has also taken down 120,000 posts and put warnings on 150 million posts for attempted voter obstruction, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg said.
Clegg told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche that Facebook had partnered with 70 specialized media outlets, including five in France, to verify information.
Facebook’s AI moderators had “made it possible to delete billions of posts and fake accounts, even before they are reported by users,” he said, in comments first reported by Agence France Presse.
The news comes amid growing pressure on Facebook to tackle misinformation ahead of the election.
New research published October 12 suggested misinformation on Facebook was three times as popular as it was during the 2016 election, when fake accounts linked to Russia purchased thousands of ads to try to manipulate voters.
Facebook announced October 7 that it would ban all political ads that wrongly claim victory after the polls close on November 3.
It will also ban new political ads a week before the election, and ban all political ads indefinitely after polls close.