Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

14 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

15 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Facebook to Tackle Efforts to Interfere With 2020 US Census
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
December 19, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook plans to clamp down on attempts to use its services to interfere with the 2020 U.S. census, including the posting of misleading information about when and how to participate, who can participate and what happens when people do.

Facebook and other social media companies have been trying to tackle misinformation on their services, especially ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential elections.
Facebook and other social media companies have been trying to tackle misinformation on their services, especially ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential elections. They already have similar policies around voter suppression, banning misleading information about when and where to vote, for instance.
Facebook said Thursday it will prohibit advertisements that portray taking part in the census as “useless or meaningless” or that encourage people not to participate. The company also said it will try to identify and remove misleading census posts before people see them. But it will also remove any posts it misses after the fact, using both technology and humans to spot violations. The company said it will begin enforcing the census policy in January.
The census, which happens every 10 years, is crucial to determining how many representatives a state gets in Congress and which states and cities get billions of dollars in federal funding for roads, health care, low-income programs and other projects. The results of the 2020 census also will be used to redraw electoral maps.
False and inaccurate information is already circulating online about the census. For example, posts in neighborhood chat groups warned that robbers were scamming their way into people’s homes by asking to check residents’ identification for the census. That was a hoax, but it left Census Bureau officials scrambling to get the posts removed from Facebook.
Photo of the Facebook app on an iPhone
FILE – In this Aug. 11, 2019, file photo an iPhone displays the Facebook app in New Orleans. Facebook says it won’t allow interference with the U.S. census on its platform, including posting misleading information about when and how to participate, who can participate and the consequences of taking part. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Facebook Has Long Tried to Steer Clear of Having to Police Its Content

Facebook sometimes plays down misleading content rather than banning it outright, as it did with a faked video of Nancy Pelosi that went viral earlier this year. It can also “downrank” false or misleading posts — including videos — so that fewer people will see them. Such material can also be paired with fact checks produced by outside organizations, including The Associated Press.

Google is also trying to prevent misinformation about the census from spreading. It set up a team to focus on preventing hoaxes and misleading information.
But Facebook is defining misleading census posts as a violation of its community standards and thus subject to removal.
Google is also trying to prevent misinformation about the census from spreading. It set up a team to focus on preventing hoaxes and misleading information. It also expanded a YouTube policy to make it clear that misinformation about the census is prohibited on the site and will be taken down.
Facebook has long tried to steer clear of having to police its content, claiming it is a platform, not a publisher. But after revelations that that Russians bankrolled thousands of fake political ads during the 2016 elections, Facebook and other social networks faced intense pressure to ensure that doesn’t happen again. It tightened political ad requirements including verifying political ad buyers and archiving all political ads for the public. But many have found ways to slip through the cracks of the system.
Facebook has been under fire for its policy of not fact checking political advertisements on its service, which critics say allows politicians to lie and then pay Facebook to amplify their lies. Facebook has said it wants to provide politicians with a “level playing field” for communication and not intervene when they speak, regardless of what they’re saying.
But now that misleading information about the census is a violation of Facebook’s terms, such posts will be removed even if they are coming from a politician. Facebook has a similar policy against interfering with voting.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

14 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

14 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

14 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

14 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

14 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

15 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

15 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

15 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

15 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

13 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
13 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

13 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
14 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
14 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend