Facebook has said that they will announce the Presidential Election result on its platforms. As reported by The Verge, the company will send notifications to users upon an announcement of the result.
Dealing with the Presenditial Election has been a major issue for social media platforms such as Facebook. They have had to strike a fine balance between promoting free speech but also curbing the spread of misinformation.
As a result, Facebook has taken down a network of accounts promoting fake news. These accounts originate from around the world trying to spread misinformation.
Facebook and Twitter have also received subpoenas from the Senate following some of their actions. Both companies took action against a New York Times article which the Senate had problems with as they thought it was stopping free speech.
By saying they will announce the Presidential Election result, Facebook has attempted to take control of the spread of information. However, the platform will rely on major news outlets to make that call when the time comes.
Facebook to announce the Presidential Election result
When a result has been reached Facebook will announce the result across its platforms. This means Facebook and Instagram users will receive a notification to tell them who will be the next President.
Facebook spokesperson Tom Reynolds said the company plans to “show the candidate’s name in notifications at the top of Facebook and Instagram that say ‘A Presidential Winner Has Been Projected — <name> is the projected winner of the 2020 US Presidential Election'”.
Facebook has said that it has seen “more inaccurate claims about the election”. Reynolds did point out that many of these claims have “low engagement” on its platform.
The company is taking more temporary steps to try and tackle the spread of misinformation. This includes demoting content that its systems consider misinformation, and debunked claims about voting.
The platform still has an indefinite ban on US-political ads. This also specifically bans ads that falsely claim victory. On Thursday, Facebook pulled down a group of 300,000 people called “Stop the Steal”.
This was due to “worrying calls for violence from members of the group” according to the company. With legal challenges expected to follow whatever result emerges in the company days this story is certainly not over.
This could mean more pressure on social media platforms such as Facebook to curb the spread of misinformation. It is an almost unprecedented situation and one that could cause major issues for social media companies.