WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With a view to discouraging attempts to use its services to interfere with the U.S. census next year, Facebook has decided to ban the posting of misleading information about the process on the social media platform.
It is also introducing a new policy that will prohibit advertisements that portray taking part in the census as 'useless or meaningless' or that advise people not to participate.
Facebook made it clear that content that violates its census interference policy will not be allowed to remain on its platforms as newsworthy even if posted by a politician.
Content that does not violate this policy, but may still be inaccurate, will be eligible for fact-checking by Facebook's third-party partners and, if rated false, will have more prominent labels and will be ranked lower in News Feed.
It will share accurate, non-partisan information about how to participate in the census in consultation with the U.S. Census Bureau.
Next year, all households in the United States will be able to complete the census online for the first time.
Facebook's operations center will be monitoring live potential census interference to quickly address any abuse.
Facebook said it is also working with local officials and Census Bureau partners by giving them access to CrowdTangle displays, a tool used to track how content spreads online.
CrowdTangle has already helped fact-checkers and local governments ahead of elections by monitoring for potential misinformation and suppressive content.
Facebook will begin enforcing its census interference policy next month with a team of reviewers assessing all content surfaced on the social media platform.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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