‘WARTS AND ALL’

Facebook Confirms It Won’t Stop Politicians From Lying in Ads Ahead of Presidential Election

However, users will be able to opt out of receiving political ads.

Facebook has confirmed it will continue to allow politicians to make false claims in paid political posts through the 2020 election, but the company will enable users to opt out of seeing political ads. The new rules announced Thursday morning defy calls to introduce stricter limits on political advertising ahead of the election. False claims won’t be banned and controversial targeting tools that allow parties to deliver messaging to specific audiences will remain in place. The company said it would address concerns about misleading claims by giving users a choice to see fewer ads about politics. Users will be able to choose to stop seeing ads from campaigns, even if they’re targeted. In a blog post announcing the changes, Facebook said: “We have based [our policy] on the principle that people should be able to hear from those who wish to lead them, warts and all, and that what they say should be scrutinized and debated in public.”