Facebook to vet Pakistan's political advertisers before 2018 elections

[FalconsForPeace]

Political ads on Facebook will now be required to specify the person or entity paying for the message, the company's chief announced in a post on Friday as part of the bid to curb outside election interference, adding that it will verify the payer's identity as well.

The announcement is pertinent for Pakistan in the sense that the general elections are just around the corner, giving rise to concerns and rumours that Cambridge Analytica — a British political consultancy embroiled in the Facebook data fiasco — may be planning to skew the results.

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, said it was among his top priorities to make "sure we support positive discourse and prevent interference", especially "with important elections coming up in the US, Mexico, Brazil, India, Pakistan and more countries in the next year".

The popular social media giant, which is currently under fire for enabling manipulation of its platform in the 2016 US elections, said the new policy would require any messages for candidates or public issues to include the label "political ad" with the name of the person or entity paying for it.


Facebook says data leak hits 87 million users, widening privacy scandal


Zuckerberg said his company supports the Honest Ads Act because "election interference is a problem that's bigger than any one platform" and that it would "help raise the bar for all political advertising online".

"To get verified, advertisers will need to confirm their identity and location. Any advertiser who doesn't pass will be prohibited from running political or issue ads.

"We will also label them and advertisers will have to show you who paid for them. We're starting this in the US and expanding to the rest of the world in the coming months," Zuckerberg wrote.

The social media platform's head informed users of a new tool his company has built recently "that lets anyone see all of the ads a page is running".

That feature, currently part of a beta test in Canada now, will be in addition to "a searchable archive of past political ads".

Another revision will be a prerequisite for Facebook administrators — people who own and run pages on the network and create content — to have their personal profiles verified with a blue tick mark by the company.

"This will make it much harder for people to run pages using fake accounts, or to grow virally and spread misinformation or divisive content that way," the tech executive noted.

"These steps by themselves won't stop all people trying to game the system," Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page. "But they will make it a lot harder for anyone to do what the Russians did during the 2016 election and use fake accounts and pages to run ads."


Facebook enhancing security measures ahead of elections in Pakistan, other countries


"Earlier this week, we took down a large network of Russian fake accounts that included a Russian news organization," he said.

To do so, Facebook would "hire thousands of more people", meaning that the changes are likely to be implemented this year, according to Zuckerberg, ahead of the US mid-term elections in November.

A separate Facebook statement said the changes would help improve the network's transparency and accountability since "when you visit a page or see an ad on Facebook, it should be clear who it's coming from".

"We also think it's important for people to be able to see the other ads a page is running, even if they're not directed at you. […] Advertisers will be prohibited from running political ads — electoral or issue-based — until they are authorised."

The announcement comes ahead of Zuckerberg's appearance before the US Congress, next week, to answer questions about the harvesting of personal data on 87 million users by Cambridge Analytica working Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/189929-facebook-to-verify-identities-for-political-ads

 

[war&peace]

That's a positive development. Thanks to the Cambridge Analytica scam.

 

[newb3e]

maryam kia karay ge? uska toh poora plan hai social media ads peh hai!!

 

[Dalit]

FB is going down. This is nothing, but a face saving attempt.

We all know FB was deeply involved in helping Trump get elected.

Besides, FB won't make much of a difference in Pakistan elections.

We need to make sure that the ballot boxes are secure if you know what I mean.

 

[Asian.Century]

Facebook Enhances Security Measures ahead of Pakistan Election 2018

As we all know that Pakistan Election 2018 is going to held on July 25th. Now ahead of Pakistan Election 2018, Facebook Enhances Security Measures on its platform. The social media giant has increased the number of safety and security people working on this area. Moreover, it also has dedicated teams focused on preventing abuse on the platform during elections. Furthermore, Facebook also started training of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s officials with the goal of increasing transparency and helping authorities promote civic engagement.

Just before the Pakistan Election 2018, Facebook increased the number of safety and security people working on this area.

The social media company had taken a number of steps to protect Pakistan Election 2018 from abuse and exploitation. Further, it will include enhanced security measures to protect pages of political parties and candidates. Moreover, the Facebook will improve the enforcement of its ads policies and greater ads and page transparency. The latest security measures will make better use of machine learning to combat fake accounts and working to reduce the spread of false news.

Facebook has started training of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s officials with the goal of increasing transparency and helping authorities promote civic engagement
Everyone has its own like and dislikes. But during elections, many activists and supports of different political parties, sometimes, use abusive language in love for their party. Surely, this step of Facebook will help to somehow manage this abusive content of its platform during Pakistan Election 2018.

Also See: Facebook is Reportedly Working on A “Your Time on Facebook” Feature

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/category/technology/

 

[El Sidd]

who the hell uses facebook?
its 2018

 

[Asian.Century]

ISPR warns public against phishing threat alerts on social media
Last Updated On 19 July,2018 12:32 pm
The spokesman has requested the people to visit official website of ISPR for crosscheck.
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday has issued a warning about the phishing threat alerts that are viral on social media.

The spokesman has rejected the alerts doing rounds on internet in the name of ISPR and termed them as a bid to sabotage the upcoming general elections 2018.

He further clarified that the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces has not disseminated such alerts and requested the people to visit official website of ISPR for crosscheck.

Earlier, ISPR Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor, in a public awareness message, had warned of hoax telephone calls being made to general public by individuals impersonating as Pakistan Armed Forces officials.

He said that the impersonators try to seek personal details like CNIC, bank accounts etc on the pretext of census verification etc.

Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor also asked the public not to respond to such calls, and immediately report the matter by dialing the emergency helpline UANs 1135 and 1125.

On the other hand, hugely popular WhatsApp messaging service began a week-long publicity campaign in Pakistan, offering tips to spot fake news, days before the country holds a general election.

"Together we can fight false information," says the full-page ad in an English-language daily, listing ten tips on differentiating rumors from fact.

"Many messages containing hoaxes or fake news have spelling mistakes. Look for these signs so you can check if the information is accurate," it says.

"If you read something that makes you angry or afraid, ask whether it was shared to make you feel that way. And if the answer is yes, think twice before sharing it again."