Facebook to now label political ads
San Francisco, May 25 : In a fresh bid to prevent foreign interference into elections, Facebook has begun labelling all political and issue ads in the US -- including a "Paid for by" disclosure from the advertiser at the top of the advertisement.
Advertisers wanting to run ads with political content in the US will also need to verify their identity and location, the social media giant said in a blog post late Thursday.
"When you click on the label, you'll be taken to an archive with more information. For example, the campaign budget associated with an individual ad and how many people saw it - including their age, location and gender," said Rob Leathern, Director of Product Management at Facebook.
The changes have currently been introduced in the US.
If people see an ad which they believe has political content and is not labelled, they can report back to Facebook.
To do so, just tap the three dots at the top right-hand corner of the ad, select "report", and then "it refers to a political candidate or issue".
"Facebook will review the ad, and if it falls under our Political Advertising policy, we'll take it down and add it to the archive," Leathern wrote.
The advertiser will then be banned from running ads with political content until they complete Facebook's authorisation process.
"We won't always get it right. We know we'll miss some ads and in other cases we'll identify some we shouldn't. We'll keep working on the process and improve as we go," the company said.
The changes are aimed at preventing a situation like the 2016 US presidential election when Russian advertisers created fake posts and bought ads to interfere in the election process on both Facebook and its photo-sharing platform Instagram.
Facebook said it is working closely with its newly-formed Election Commission and other stakeholders to launch an API for the archive.
"We're working closely with news partners and are committed to updating the archive to help differentiate between news and non-news content," the post added.
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MP CM Yadav targets Priyanka, says 'fake' Gandhis using their surname for votes
Bhopal (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has hit out at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, claiming "fake" Gandhis were using their surname for votes.
Yadav was speaking at a public rally in Myana town of Madhya Pradesh's Guna Lok Sabha seat on Saturday.
During a campaign speech in Rajasthan on April 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Congress plans to give people's hard-earned money and valuables to "infiltrators" and "those who have more children'' -- alluding to Muslims -- and would steal the "gold of mothers and sisters" if voted to power.
Priyanka Gandhi later lashed out at Modi over his "gold and mangalsutra" remarks, saying her mother Sonia Gandhi sacrificed her ‘mangalsutra’ for the country.
Taking a dig at the Congress general secretary, Yadav said former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's soul must be "shedding tears" over a (great) granddaughter born in the family who does not even wear 'mangalsutra'.
Yadav also targeted Gandhis over the use of their surname.
"In our case, as soon as the daughter gets married, she is given the surname which is applicable there (at in-laws' house)," he said.
But these "vote-hungry people" are forgetting their surname for the sake of votes and using Gandhi surname even today, the CM said.
"Priyanka also became Gandhi. Where did the Gandhi surname come from? Where would be the family members of the real Gandhi? These fake Gandhis are taking votes in the name of Gandhi," he claimed.
Reacting to Yadav's statement, KK Mishra, senior Congress leader and media advisor to MP party president Jitu Patwari, claimed the CM said Priyanka Gandhi "got married in another religion".
"Is it unconstitutional or a crime? Yadav also has an objection as to why Priyanka ji uses her surname as Gandhi after marriage. Chief Minister, please see her X account, Vadra is also written in front of the surname," he said.
