04 June 2021 - Facebook will end special treatment for politicians after Trump ban
Facebook Plans to End Hands-Off Approach to Politicians’ Posts
Mike Isaac (The New York Times, 03/06/2021)
Facebook plans to announce on Friday that it will no longer keep posts by politicians up on its site by default if their speech breaks its rules, said two people with knowledge of the company’s plans, reversing how it has allowed posts from political figures to remain untouched on the social network.
The change, which is tied to Facebook’s decision to bar former President Donald J. Trump from its site, is a retreat from a policy introduced less than two years ago, when the company said speech from politicians was newsworthy and should not be policed.
Under the change, politicians’ posts will no longer be presumed newsworthy, said the people with knowledge of the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Politicians will be subject to Facebook’s content guidelines that prohibit harassment, discrimination or other harmful speech, they said.
Facebook to end special treatment for politicians after Trump ban
Alex Heath (The Verge, 03/06/2021)
Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that mostly shields politicians from the content moderation rules that apply to other users, a sharp reversal that could have global ramifications for how elected officials use the social network.
The change, which Facebook is set to announce as soon as Friday, comes after the Oversight Board — an independent group funded by Facebook to review its thorniest content rulings — affirmed its decision to suspend former President Donald Trump but critiqued the special treatment it gives politicians, stating that the “same rules should apply to all users.” The board gave Facebook till June 5th to respond to its policy recommendations.
Liberal group says Facebook's misinformation labels amplified Trump posts
Joseph Choi (The Hill, 03/06/2021)
A new study published this week by liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America found that Facebook’s misinformation labels may have actually helped to amplify former President Trump’s content.
According to Media Matters, the posts from Trump between January 2020 to 2021 that were labeled as containing misinformation by Facebook received more than twice the amount of interactions compared to his overall posts. The labeled posts received around 407,000 interactions on average, while his posts overall received an average of 152,000 interactions in comparison.
Facebook to end content moderation policies that favor politician accounts: report
Brittany De Lea (Fox News, 04/06/2021)
Social media giant Facebook is allegedly preparing to adjust its content moderation policies so that they apply equally to all users, including politicians.
Facebook will end a policy that shields politicians from being subjected to the same rules as other users, The Verge reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the changes. While posts put up directly by politicians reportedly will not be looked at by fact-checkers, their accounts will be subject to the same rules for other violations like bullying.
The company will also open up about a strike system that it uses to evaluate accounts that violate its policies, according to the publication, including possibly sending letters to affected users.