TORONTO -- Despite launching a third-party fact-checking initiative to address the spread of misinformation during the federal election, a specific clause in Facebook鈥檚 advertising policy exempts politicians from rules designed to stop the spread of false or misleading claims.
Earlier this week, Facebook revised its policy related to , narrowing the rules.
Previously, the social network鈥檚 advertising policy banned ads that included 鈥渄eceptive, false or misleading information.鈥 However, the revised policy reads that Facebook only prohibits ads that 鈥渋nclude claims debunked by third-party fact checkers or, in certain circumstances, claims debunked by organizations with particular expertise.鈥
Under Facebook鈥檚 , launched in Canada in June 2018, the company relies on independent organizations to verify posts flagged by users and algorithms as false or misleading.
But in a , Nick Clegg, Facebook鈥檚 vice president of global affairs and communications, noted that politicians are exempt from those fact-checks.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 believe鈥 that it鈥檚 an appropriate role for us to referee political debates and prevent a politician鈥檚 speech from reaching its audience and being subject to public debate and scrutiny. That鈥檚 why Facebook exempts politicians from our third-party fact-checking program,鈥 reads the post written by Clegg.
鈥淭his means that we will not send organic content or ads from politicians to our third-party fact-checking partners for review.鈥
The blog post does note that politicians will be held to fact-checking standards should they share false or misleading content, such as links, videos, or photos, that has been previously debunked by Facebook鈥檚 fact-checking parties.
Facebook鈥檚 fact-checking program has been in how many claims they can fact-check. With only a dozen of small organizations on board, critics note that only the most viral claims will be checked.
There is only one fact-checking agency assigned to checking claims in Canada -- Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Will Moy, CEO of Full Fact UK, one of the organizations participating in Facebook鈥檚 program, notes that in the era of disinformation,fact-checkers are in a constant race against those who are spreading false or misleading information -- and that includes politicians.
鈥淓very time we improve our technology, improve our techniques, improve our reach, the people who are deliberately peddling bad information will change the way they behave -- and those people range from people who are trying to make money, to people who are trying to win political arguments, including quite possible all of the candidates in your election,鈥 Moy said during an interview on the podcast Attention Control with Kevin Newman.
鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about in some cases people with massive resources鈥 people with lots of political experience and yes, they will adapt to what we do.鈥
As part of the Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, which Facebook signed onto, the social network has partnered with digital literacy organization MediaSmarts to help people spot so-called fake news with a series of videos and tip sheets.
In 2018, it also launched a 鈥渃ontext鈥 button that allows users to see background information about publishers and the articles they see in their News Feed to help users decide what to trust and share.
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