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Facebook Cracks Down On Posts With Misinformation About How To Vote Ahead Of Midterm Elections

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Evie Fordham Politics and Health Care Reporter
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Facebook will fight fake news ahead of November’s midterm elections by banning posts with “misrepresentations about how to vote,” the company said Monday.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to prevent people from misusing Facebook during elections, we’re broadening our policies against voter suppression — action that is designed to deter or prevent people from voting,” Facebook said in a blog post Monday. “These updates were designed to address new types of abuse that we’re seeing online.”

Facebook does not ban “all false or misleading posts,” but it will focus on removing misleading posts on how to vote, such as a hoax that individuals could vote by text message, reported Reuters.

“We already prohibit offers to buy or sell votes as well as misrepresentations about the dates, locations, times and qualifications for casting a ballot,” Facebook said. “We have been removing this type of content since 2016.”

An October 11, 2018 photo shows the Facebook log-in page in Washington, DC. - Facebook on October 11, 2018 said it shut down 251 accounts for breaking rules against spam and coordinated deceit, some of it by ad farms pretending to be forums for political debate. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

An October 11, 2018 photo shows the Facebook log-in page in Washington, DC. – Facebook on October 11, 2018 said it shut down 251 accounts for breaking rules against spam and coordinated deceit, some of it by ad farms pretending to be forums for political debate. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Facebook will also “fact-check fake reports of violence or long lines at polling stations,” company executives told Reuters.

“In these cases, we will send content to our third-party fact-checkers for review,” Facebook stated. (RELATED: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Talks US Addiction Problem, Giving ‘Second Chances’)

Facebook has over 1.5 billion daily users and is the world’s largest online social network, according to Reuters.

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