Facebook staff opposes policy allowing lies in political ads

Hundreds of workers signed a letter to Facebook executives, saying they believe the rule runs counter to the important work the company has done to protect users from election manipulation – a top priority. — AFP

Facebook Inc, already under fire from some lawmakers and US presidential candidates for its policy against fact-checking speech from politicians, is now facing pressure from employees who are concerned the social media giant is letting politicians lie in ads.

Hundreds of workers signed a letter to Facebook executives, saying they believe the rule runs counter to the important work the company has done to protect users from election manipulation – a top priority. The employees asked Facebook to hold political ads to the same standard as other content, and they outlined several steps the company could take to mitigate the potential harm from misleading ads, including making their political nature more clear, according to a copy of the letter published earlier by the New York Times and verified by Bloomberg.