Facebook seems to be working its hardest to make sure that it provides users every piece of helpful information regarding the U.S. Presidential Elections, which are now only 27 days away. The company has released its last update for its tools that it has launched related to polling and voting processes. The update includes new notifications for poll information, official election updates, and an Elections Operations Center.
There is a range of notifications that users will receive in their Facebook and Instagram home feed. The notifications are meant to keep people up to date on official information regarding polling. Facebook clarified that in case of the announcement of premature victory by a candidate or party, it will make sure to provide specific information via notifications that confirms that the election results haven’t been finalized yet.
The company will also provide official updates on the projections for the winner as it continues to receive authentic information.
Moreover, Facebook is taking election integrity seriously, as it will provide additional notes or informational labels to misleading content. The labels are meant to provide reliable information regarding the integrity of the elections and voting methods.
Facebook is also making sure to reduce the spread of content that intimidates election officials or voters. As a part of that, it is banning all such posts and comments.
Lastly, the Elections Operations Center has been designed to monitor the process of polling in a coordinated manner. For that, Facebook has brought together experts from its threat intelligence, data science, engineering, research, operations and legal departments to contribute to this matter.
Facebook’s approach towards the 2020 Presidential Elections is more or less the same one that it has implemented since 2016. The company has further provided a complete list of the steps that it has taken this year for the protection of polling and voting activities.
It looks like Facebook has tried its best to introduce all possible measures, but it does not save the company from criticism, since its platform has always been a source of misinformation. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of Facebook’s latest election tools will tell how successful it has been this year to ensure the safety of polls and voting procedures.
