Facebook will ban ads that wrongly claim victory in the US presidential race. The news comes a week after the company announced it would reject ads from Donald Trump or Joe Biden claiming a premature win on November 3.
The policy covers ads that claim legal forms of voting — like voting by mail — will corrupt the outcome of the election. It also bans ads that claim rampant voter fraud could alter the results of the election.
This is a real concern for the 2020 race. Due to mail-in voting, the electoral process is expected to take longer than in years past, and the official results likely won’t be announced on November 3.
Experts worry that because more Democrats are expected to vote by mail than Republicans, Trump could declare an early victory, then sow doubt about the results as more Biden votes trickle in.
Google likely had this in mind last week when it announced it would ban election ads after polls close on November 3.
Similarly, Facebook is seeking to limit the spread of misinformation about the vote with ad policies targeting the 2020 election. It already banned new political ads the week before the election. Now it’s looking past the election, too.
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