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Summary
- In the 2016 US election, Donald Trump’s surprising win forced researchers to reinterpret the narratives, statistics, software system and news events surrounding the social media, particularly Facebook.
- Officials of the Facebook Company have been putting forward that they will not allow any individual or group to hamper the elections in any way.
- Facebook is expected to launch a Board in October which will have the power of reviewing decisions and to take down posts from Facebook as well as Instagram, which they think might hamper the outcome of an election.
The social media world, like so many other spheres, features a stark divergence in its way of functioning before, during and after the elections. In the 2016 US election, Donald Trump’s surprising win forced researchers to reinterpret the narratives, statistics, software system and news events surrounding the social media, particularly Facebook.
Ahead of the US Presidential elections that will be held on November 3, the internet giant Facebook has announced it will come up with various measures to support conspiracy-free balloting.
Facebook’s role in elections in past
In the year 2012, Facebook turned out to be a strong, unbiased power in electoral politics. The same year, a combined research team from the University of California, San Diego and Facebook itself published a study that suggested that the ‘I Voted’ button had propelled the voter turnout, particularly among young people.
Also, given that Facebook users are primarily youngsters, democrat may have got an edge in the 2012 general election as it appears the youth votes for Democratic party more.
How does Facebook work?
One of Facebook’s catch is its capability to give a user what he wants. You like a page; you get more of that page’s posts; you like a story, you get more stories similar to that; you interact with a person, you get more of that person’s updates.
The way Facebook regulates the position of the news feed is the possibility that a user will like, comment or share a particular post, story or a feed. The value of shares is much more than comments, and the worth of shares and comments is collectively more than likes. In all instances, the more you interact with a post, the higher it will be displayed in your homepage news feed. Around 2000 kinds of Facebook features are responsible for making these calculations.
Having said all this, the fact that one’s editorial sensibilities are limited, cannot be denied. Most of the users are less likely to engage with opinions that they find perplexing, irritating, inaccurate and objectionable. And this fact stands erect not just in the world of politics but also in the wider civilisation.
Facebook’s lookout for US elections 2020
In a series of posts, tweets and addresses, various officials of the Facebook company have been putting forward that they will not allow any individual or group to hamper the elections in any way.
On September 22, Facebook said that it disrupted a network of fake accounts in China. These accounts aimed at hindering the upcoming Presidential race. The takedown came as part of the fight against organised inauthentic behaviour by social networks. Facebook shared that this was the first time they had witnessed such a campaign based out of China targeting US politics. This takedown led to a removal of 155 accounts, 11 pages, nine groups, and six Instagram accounts for contravening its guideline against foreign interference in deceptive schemes.
As a yet another significant step, recently, the social media giant has decided to stop all kinds of political and social ad campaigns after the US polls close on November 3. Facebook had previously stated that it would not consider or allow any political ad campaign during the US elections.
To add to this, if any political party come up with claims of victory or foretells the electoral results before the government or in case any media organisation comes up with bypolls or exit polls, Facebook will be adding additional notices along with those posts or feeds.
Also read: ACCC drops report suggesting changes for Google and Facebook
Prior to this, following a dramatic demonstration of threats during the first edition of the US Presidential debate, Facebook clarified its new rules around election-related ads. Company’s Director of Product Management Rob Leathern, who leads Facebook’s business integrity team, announced on Twitter that the social media giant ‘would not allow any ads that delegitimise the outcome of an election including ‘calling a method of voting intrinsically fake or crooked, or using isolated occurrences of voter scam to delegitimise the outcome of an election.’
Facebook is already fighting a flood of attacks on the truthfulness of the November’s US election after Trump showcased his doubts regarding voting by mail and refused to commit to accepting election outcome if he is defeated by Biden.
Also read: Condemned for Misinformation, hate & harassment, Facebook says – We are making progress
There are reports that a special board has been created by Facebook in response to criticism of its handling of challenging content. This board, to be launched in October, will have the power of reviewing decisions and to take down posts from Facebook as well as Instagram. Also, the board can recommend alterations in its policies.
