From Facebook to Twitter and YouTube, social media corporations whose platforms have been used to magnify lies, conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric in 2016 have been for years for the November presidential election.
Now is the time.
On Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the House National Security Committee hearing that Russia remains “very active” in its efforts to sow discord and disrupt voting, basically by denigrating Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
There has been an alarming increase in domestic interference from equipment such as the QAnon Conspiracy Sect, which are spreading lies. And President Trump, who uses social media as a spokesman for his re-election campaign, has made comments that threaten to undermine confidence in elections, from wondering about the legitimacy of mail voting to suggesting that others vote twice.
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“I think it’s transparent that they’re looking for a lot more than they did in 2016 or even in 2018, but I don’t think anyone can be absolutely in a position for what could happen if we have an incredibly closed election this year. “, said Patrick Warren, an associate professor at Clemson University who studies the wrong social media data. “This year, a foreign data operation of the duration and scope of the 2016 Campaign (Internet Research Agency) would take place. national operations adopt their tactics, which is a much more complicated challenge for platforms. “
Amid developing considerations about the integrity of elections, Twitter said Thursday that it would take steps to protect the accounts of high-level users, adding administration officials, members of Congress, political parties and campaigns, primary news organizations and political journalists.
Earlier this week, Twitter announced an in-app voting data center that will include data on ballots by mail and how to register for the November 3 elections in English and Spanish, and has also strengthened its policy on wrong election-related data.
Facebook has implemented adjustments to curb incorrect information and interference before the election, adding a ban on new political publicity in the week leading up to Election Day and taking strong action against posts that discourage others from voting.
The projects are part of a Facebook crusade to register four million voters and provide election officials with Election Day.
It measures the broad influence of social media on U. S. politics and this year’s highly debatable election cycle in which an unprecedented number of Americans are expected to vote in the mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.
What tech corporations desperately need to avoid: A replay of the 2016 election in which Russian operatives peppered the American electorate with divisive messages.
Facebook and Twitter recently ended their efforts through the Kremlin-backed Internet Search Agency, which intervened in the 2016 election to steer Biden’s electorate away from a network of fake accounts and a covert online page to look like a left-wing news site.
Last month, YouTube pledged to increase the visibility of authoritative voices and the dissemination of election-related misconceptions. It has redoubled its efforts to provide articles verified by previous third parties to seek effects on election accusations and when YouTube users search for presidential. or federal applicants on YouTube, a dashboard appears to be above search effects with data about the candidate.
But it’s not just the preparation for November 3, tech corporations are preparing for what can be a turbulent era after the election if they’re not qualified or if the elections are contested.
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Twitter is committed to tagging or posting posts containing misleading election results.
Facebook has strengthened its policies to take strong action against erroneous data and direct users to reliable election data, adding content that seeks to delegitimate voting strategies or final election results.
“Because the pandemic means that many of us will vote by mail and that some states may still have valid ballots after Election Day, many experts hope that we may not have a final result on election night. be prepared in advance for this option and perceive that there may also be an era of intense claims and counterclaims when the final effects are counted. This can also be a very hot moment,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.