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posted by martyb on Tuesday August 25 2020, @06:36AM   Printer-friendly
from the why-wait-until-AFTER-the-election? dept.

Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results:

Facebook spent years preparing to ward off any tampering on its site ahead of November's presidential election. Now the social network is getting ready in case President Trump interferes once the vote is over.

Employees at the Silicon Valley company are laying out contingency plans and walking through postelection scenarios that include attempts by Mr. Trump or his campaign to use the platform to delegitimize the results, people with knowledge of Facebook's plans said.

Facebook is preparing steps to take should Mr. Trump wrongly claim on the site that he won another four-year term, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Facebook is also working through how it might act if Mr. Trump tries to invalidate the results by declaring that the Postal Service lost mail-in ballots or that other groups meddled with the vote, the people said.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, and some of his lieutenants have started holding daily meetings about minimizing how the platform can be used to dispute the election, the people said. They have discussed a "kill switch" to shut off political advertising after Election Day since the ads, which Facebook does not police for truthfulness, could be used to spread misinformation, the people said.

The preparations underscore how rising concerns over the integrity of the November election have reached social media companies, whose sites can be used to amplify lies, conspiracy theories and inflammatory messages. YouTube and Twitter have also discussed plans for action if the postelection period becomes complicated, according to disinformation and political researchers who have advised the firms.

[...] The preparations underscore how rising concerns over the integrity of the November election have reached social media companies, whose sites can be used to amplify lies, conspiracy theories and inflammatory messages. YouTube and Twitter have also discussed plans for action if the postelection period becomes complicated, according to disinformation and political researchers who have advised the firms.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by driverless on Tuesday August 25 2020, @11:30AM (4 children)

    by driverless (4770) on Tuesday August 25 2020, @11:30AM (#1041549)

    Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results

    Oops, looks like half the headline is missing, it should have read:

    Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results Unless he Wins, In Which Case the Result is Rock-solid

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Flamebait=1, Insightful=3, Touché=1, Total=5
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2020, @01:28PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2020, @01:28PM (#1041572)

    Yeah -- tell us about that Mrs. Clinton -- or are you Rachel?

    • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2020, @03:29PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2020, @03:29PM (#1041651)

      Yeah -- tell us about that Mrs. Clinton -- or are you Rachel?

      Haha. All the 'biased' people you're pointing out would literally be quoting him. Gonna need a new strategy, bud.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2020, @02:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 25 2020, @02:40PM (#1041613)

    You're almost there:

    Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results Unless he Wins, In Which Case Facebook, the Media, and Hollywood Celebrities to Cast Doubt on Election Results.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday August 25 2020, @11:05PM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday August 25 2020, @11:05PM (#1041831)

    No, the headline should be:

    Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results because he did it last time, even though he won