Facebook Changes Policy to Allow Trump to Lie in His Facebook Ads

Judd Legum, writing for his excellent Popular Information newsletter:

Prior to last week, Facebook had a rule against running any ads with “false and misleading” content: “Ads, landing pages, and business practices must not contain deceptive, false, or misleading content, including deceptive claims, offers, or methods.”

But today, category 13 of prohibited content has been narrowed significantly. Now, Facebook only “prohibits ads that include claims debunked by third-party fact checkers or, in certain circumstances, claims debunked by organizations with particular expertise.”

The old rules prohibited all ads that contained “false” and “misleading” content and made no mention of the fact-checking program. The new rules are limited to claims that are “debunked by third-party fact checkers.”

Moreover, Facebook says “political figures” are exempt from even that narrow restriction.

And, just like that, I’m back on team “Fuck you, Facebook.” This company is a legitimate menace to liberal democracy.

★ Thursday, 3 October 2019