Following absence of ads, Facebook to label all rule-breaking posts - even Trump's

Facebook says it will flag all “newsworthy” posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from President Donald Trump.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously refused to take action against Trump posts suggesting that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud. Twitter, by contrast, slapped a “get the facts” label on them.

Facebook is also banning false claims intended to discourage voting, such as stories about federal agents checking legal status at polling places.

The company also said it is increasing its enforcement capacity to remove false claims about local polling conditions in the 72 hours before the US election.

Related news: Facebook to label all rule-breaking posts after being boycotted by companies

The decision to flag the posts comes after shares of Facebook and Twitter dropped sharply after the giant company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap said it will halt the US advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram through at least the end of the year.

That European consumer-product maker, Unilever, said it took the move to protest the amount of hate speech online.

Unilever said the polarized atmosphere in the United States ahead of the November’s presidential election placed responsibility on brands to act.

Shares of both Facebook and Twitter fell roughly 7 per cent following Unilever’s announcement. The company, which is based in the Netherlands and Britain, joins a raft of other advertisers pulling back from online platforms.

Facebook in particular has been the target of an escalating movement to withhold advertising dollars to pressure it to do more to prevent racist and violent content from being shared on its platform.

“We have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in the U.S.,” Unilever said.

Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Related news: Facebook to notify users while sharing over 90 days old content

On Thursday, Verizon joined others in the Facebook boycott.

Sarah Personette, vice president of global client solutions at Twitter, said the company’s mission is to serve the public conversation and ensure Twitter is a place where people can make human connections, seek and receive authentic and credible information, and express themselves freely and safely.

She added that Twitter is “respectful of our partner’s decisions and will continue to work and communicate closely with them during this time.”