Facebook Has Enabled More Users to Switch Off Political Ads, Expanding its Option to More Than Ninet
A new article on Social Media Today reports that Facebook has taken another step toward reducing political content in user feeds by expanding access to its controls to switch off political promotions in your Ad Preferences.
Back in June 2020, before the US election got underway, Facebook announced that US users would be able to turn off social issue, electoral, or political ads. You could now choose to 'see fewer of them', which Facebook says will mostly eliminate political ads from your feed. Four months after that move Facebook has just announced that the same controls will be available to users around with world:
Starting July 3, everyone in the US who's voting age will see a message at the top of the Facebook app with information about how to register to vote. This will link to their state's registration website or a nonpartisan partner site in states where it isn't available online. We'll have more registration drives on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger throughout the summer.
Starting July 3, everyone in the US who's voting age will see a message at the top of the Facebook app with information about how to register to vote. This will link to their state's registration website or a nonpartisan partner site in states where it isn't available online. We'll have more registration drives on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger throughout the summer.
Facebook was built to empower people by giving them a voice and voting is one of the most powerful ways to make their voice heard. With the US elections less than five months away, today Facebook is launching the largest voting information campaign in American history. We're building a new Voting Information Center that will give millions of people accurate information about voting, while also giving them the tools they need to register and make their voices heard at the ballot box. Our goal is to help register 4 million voters this year using Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, and help them get to the polls so they can hold our leaders accountable. This goal is double the estimated 2 million people we helped register in both 2018 and 2016.
COVID-19 has forced many states to make changes to voting, creating uncertainty in the minds of some voters and opportunities for election interference. We surveyed potential voters and 62% said they believe people will need more information on how to vote this year than they needed in previous elections. We've built some of the most advanced systems in the world to combat election interference. The Voting Information Center will be another line of defense. By getting clear, accurate and authoritative information to people, we reduce the effectiveness of malicious networks that might try to take advantage of uncertainty and interfere with the election.
The Voting Information Center will also be a place where people can get information about registering to vote, or requesting an absentee or mail-in ballot, depending on the rules in their state. People will also be able to see local election alerts from their officials about changes to the voting process. Our intention is simple but ambitious: to help every eligible voter in the US who uses our platform vote this year. In March, we created our COVID-19 Information Center, which has been providing trusted information from health authorities about the pandemic. Now we're using the same approach to help people vote this year.
We are also working with state election officials and other experts to ensure the Voting Information Center accurately reflects the latest information in each state. The information we highlight will change to meet the needs of voters as we move into different phases of the election like registration periods, deadlines to request a vote-by-mail ballot, the start of early voting, and Election Day.
It's hard to quantify how much Facebook influences voting and whether removing news makes the platform fitter for the purpose of staying in touch with family and friends. It's going to be interesting to see how this latest move to depoliticize content on Facebook turns out. The fact that users need to opt-in for this update means a large amount probably won't bother, so that might impact anything we learn. One thing is for certain, less political content on the platform will likely be good news for marketers.
Back in June 2020, before the US election got underway, Facebook announced that US users would be able to turn off social issue, electoral, or political ads. You could now choose to 'see fewer of them', which Facebook says will mostly eliminate political ads from your feed. Four months after that move Facebook has just announced that the same controls will be available to users around with world:
Starting July 3, everyone in the US who's voting age will see a message at the top of the Facebook app with information about how to register to vote. This will link to their state's registration website or a nonpartisan partner site in states where it isn't available online. We'll have more registration drives on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger throughout the summer.
Starting July 3, everyone in the US who's voting age will see a message at the top of the Facebook app with information about how to register to vote. This will link to their state's registration website or a nonpartisan partner site in states where it isn't available online. We'll have more registration drives on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger throughout the summer.
Facebook was built to empower people by giving them a voice and voting is one of the most powerful ways to make their voice heard. With the US elections less than five months away, today Facebook is launching the largest voting information campaign in American history. We're building a new Voting Information Center that will give millions of people accurate information about voting, while also giving them the tools they need to register and make their voices heard at the ballot box. Our goal is to help register 4 million voters this year using Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, and help them get to the polls so they can hold our leaders accountable. This goal is double the estimated 2 million people we helped register in both 2018 and 2016.
COVID-19 has forced many states to make changes to voting, creating uncertainty in the minds of some voters and opportunities for election interference. We surveyed potential voters and 62% said they believe people will need more information on how to vote this year than they needed in previous elections. We've built some of the most advanced systems in the world to combat election interference. The Voting Information Center will be another line of defense. By getting clear, accurate and authoritative information to people, we reduce the effectiveness of malicious networks that might try to take advantage of uncertainty and interfere with the election.
The Voting Information Center will also be a place where people can get information about registering to vote, or requesting an absentee or mail-in ballot, depending on the rules in their state. People will also be able to see local election alerts from their officials about changes to the voting process. Our intention is simple but ambitious: to help every eligible voter in the US who uses our platform vote this year. In March, we created our COVID-19 Information Center, which has been providing trusted information from health authorities about the pandemic. Now we're using the same approach to help people vote this year.
We are also working with state election officials and other experts to ensure the Voting Information Center accurately reflects the latest information in each state. The information we highlight will change to meet the needs of voters as we move into different phases of the election like registration periods, deadlines to request a vote-by-mail ballot, the start of early voting, and Election Day.
It's hard to quantify how much Facebook influences voting and whether removing news makes the platform fitter for the purpose of staying in touch with family and friends. It's going to be interesting to see how this latest move to depoliticize content on Facebook turns out. The fact that users need to opt-in for this update means a large amount probably won't bother, so that might impact anything we learn. One thing is for certain, less political content on the platform will likely be good news for marketers.
-
Adshares -
Thanks - Reply
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11654727].message }} -