- Facebook has been showing leniency on Trump supporters
- Strikes on posts by Donald Trump and associates are removed frequently
- Fake posts were not taken down even after fact-checkers debunked them
Facebook, once already under criticism for voter manipulation, is still in muddy waters. It has been fighting hard to avoid accusations of anti-conservative bias. Reports by Washington Post expose Facebook’s malpractices. It has been distorting its policies to favour high-profile Republicans. According to reports, Trump’s family members have been cleared against policy violations. Many other conservative members were also not punished. They have been found spreading misinformation repeatedly. Even after being flagged by users, strikes were removed against them frequently.
A similar case happened last year when Donald Trump posted misinformation on Instagram. Facebook removed a repeat infraction claim to avoid labeling him as a repeat offender. It was due to the fear of ‘backlash’ that would result from the penalty. These penalties include reduced traffic, demotion in search results, or even a temporary ban on advertising. Trump and his family members have been at the receiving end of this preferential treatment. Facebook has removed numerous strikes against them.
Facebook’s policy and self-violation
Facebook awards ‘repeat offender’ status to accounts posting ‘false information’ within 90 days. The ad privileges were not limited, despite these labels. CrowdTangle, Facebook’s social media analysis tool, showed the engagement data. There was no evidence that PAC’s traffic or post distribution was affected in any way. Facebook’s failure in debunking posts by conservative sources is even more concerning. This pattern is seen across the right-wing news outlet, Talk show host Limbaugh’s posts, among others. Their content had been proven false by Facebook’s fact-checkers. Still, they received no penalties on those posts.
Many of Facebook’s third-party fact-checking partners were just as confused. They feel that the company is going easier on certain policy violators. Neither is Facebook denying these claims. Company spokeswoman Andrea Vallone did not counter the report’s claims.
The push from several civil rights groups and high-profile advertisers had forced Facebook to change its policies. These advertisers warned of boycotting the platform if it continued to propagate hate speech and misinformation. Over 1,000 advertisers supported the boycott named #StopHateForProfit. Many others have also scaled back their spendings.
This led Zuckerberg to change Facebook’s policies. It claimed to take action against misinformation and false news within 72 hours. And flag posts that spread hoax news or political misinformation. However, it is up to policymakers and enforcers to enact and prohibit these activities. They need to break targeted advertising and the endless cycle of cosmetic changes. If not, it will only birth new scandals and online abuse.
