As bot-based disinformation campaigns continue to grow, Facebook and other social media platforms are taking steps to curb the phenomenon. Political disinformation aims to manipulate voters. Campaigners create fake accounts that aim to undermine elections and promote false information.
With the upcoming US election, political disinformation campaigns are particularly dangerous, and both tech companies and the government are taking action. As the presidential election approaches, questions are being raised about whether bots significantly influenced the 2016 election. Facebook noted that in 2016 there were “ coordinated online efforts by foreign governments and individuals to interfere in the election .”
Not long ago, Facebook removed 13 accounts and 2 pages that were trying to mislead Americans.
But what do experts think about Facebook and political disinformation campaigns?
The anonymous professional network Blind , based in San Francisco, asked 1,332 technology employees two questions to see what they think about Facebook's efforts to curb political misinformation on platform its .
- The first question was: “Do you think it is Facebook’s responsibility to prevent misinformation about the election?”
- The second question was: “’s stance surprise you Zuckerberg, given his previous stance on free speech?”
Last October, Zuckerberg spoke at Georgetown University and stressed the importance of free expression.
The survey results showed that nearly seven in ten (68%) tech professionals believe that preventing political misinformation is Facebook’s responsibility. On the other hand, only 47% of Facebook employees believe the same.
Additionally, one in three (33%) experts said they were surprised by Zuckerberg's stance, given his previous stance on free speech (the corresponding figure for Facebook employees was 27%).
Considering Facebook's policies on free expression, any deviation in advertising policies is worth considering.
Last week, Zuckerberg said Facebook would block new political ads in the week before the election, to prevent last-minute misinformation.
It will also remove posts that appear to pressure voters and that say people will get infected with COVID-19if they go to vote.
The results of the above survey show that Facebook employees disagree with other technology professionals about their responsibility for managing misinformation policy.
ZDNet asks some interesting questions: Should Facebook users be allowed to speak, express their opinions, and draw their own conclusions based on the information they see?
If President Donald Trump influences public opinion through social media, then can former Vice President Joe Biden do the same to sway voters in the other direction?
Finally, can Facebook decide who will win this election by allowing different opinions and information to circulate? Or does the responsibility lie with voters, given that we always need to be careful with what we read on social media and the internet in general?
