Digital Smarts - Facebook Still Refuses to Fact-Check Political Ads, Gives More User Tools

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February 3rd, 2020
by aaylward
in
Misinformation
Social Media
0 comments

Facebook has announced some tools for users to limit the amount of political ads served, yet they are not budging in refusing to fact check political ads on the platform. And, although this new tool allows you to reduce the number of political ads you see, it does not allow you to cut them off completely. If you are curious about what categories of ads you are being targeted with, the information is available in your settings, but Facebook’s stance remains that they should not be forced to act as referee in political debate and they are not in any position to say what is true and what is not in such claims.

The debate over Facebook’s freewheeling stance has led to more attention being paid to media organizations, who many opponents argue have essentially been incentivized to publish more divisive,  polarizing, and biased views in order to maximize engagement. Many critics say the divisions we are seeing in society today are the results of media being motivated by profit, and by allowing this to happen, Facebook has become the coliseum hosting the battles.