Facebook, Twitter Step Up Fight Against Misinformation on US Elections

Facebook, Twitter have been drawing flak for a so-called lax approach to fake news reports and misinformation campaigns.

Facebook, Twitter Step Up Fight Against Misinformation on US Elections

This comes as social networks are facing flak for what has been called a lax approach to fake news

Highlights
  • Tech giants have stepped up fight against fake news on the US elections
  • Twitter's move will involve coming up with new policies
  • Facebook, meanwhile, launched a Voting Information Center
Advertisement

Social media platforms stepped up fight against misinformation on the US elections, with Facebook starting a hub to help users with poll-related resources and Twitter expanding rules against misinformation on mail-in ballots and early voting.

The move comes as online social networks have been drawing flak for what has been called a lax approach to fake news reports and misinformation campaigns, which many believe affected the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Twitter's move will involve coming up with new policies "that emphasise accurate information about all available options to vote, including by mail and early voting."

"We're focused on empowering every eligible person to register and vote through partnerships, tools and new policies," Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Twitter's vice president for public policy in the Americas, told Reuters in an email.

Facebook, meanwhile, launched a Voting Information Center to help users with accurate and easy-to-find information about voting wherever they live.

The company said in a blog it was also speaking with officials about misinformation surrounding election results as an emerging threat.

Twitter said it would roll out measures on new tools, policies and voting resources in the next month. It is exploring how to expand its "civic integrity policies" to address mischaracterisations of mail-in voting and other procedures.

The finer details of the step are still being finalised.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that voting by mail, which is expected to increase dramatically due to the coronavirus outbreak, is susceptible to large-scale fraud.

The process is not new in the United States — nearly one in four voters cast 2016 presidential ballots that way.

Many experts have said that routine methods and the decentralised nature of US elections make it very hard to interfere with mailed ballots.

© Thomson Reuters 2020


Is Nord the iPhone SE of the OnePlus world? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Intel ‘Tiger Lake’ CPUs, Xe Graphics, 10nm ‘SuperFin’ Process, Software, and More Detailed on Architecture Day
Lenovo Posts Jump in PC Sales on Remote Working Trend
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »