SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 14, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Facebook on Thursday launched its
voting information center as internet platforms unveiled fresh moves to
protect the November US election from manipulation and interference.
The hub was described as central to defending against deception and
confusion in what promises to be an election roiled by the pandemic and
efforts to dupe voters.
The move comes amid a coordinated effort by Facebook, Google and other
online platforms to curb the spread of disinformation and thwart efforts to
manipulate voters.
Google separately announced new features for its search engine to provide
detailed information about how to register and vote, directing users to local
election administrators.
Google-owned YouTube will take down content aimed at manipulation,
including “videos that contain hacked information about a political candidate
shared with the intent to interfere in an election,” according to a
statement.
YouTube will also remove videos promoting efforts to interfere with the
voting process such as telling viewers to create long voting lines.
The announcements come a day after an industry group that includes Google,
Microsoft, Reddit, Pinterest and Twitter met with federal agencies including
the FBI’s foreign influence task force to step up coordination on election
interference.
A joint industry statement said the tech platforms, including the Wikimedia
Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, would be on the lookout for
disinformation.
“Getting accurate information to voters is one of the best vaccines against
disinformation campaigns,” Facebook head of security policy Nathaniel
Gleicher said on a briefing call with reporters.
Facebook has set a goal of helping four million people register to vote in
the US.
The hub, which the internet giant announced earlier this year, will be
prominently positioned at Facebook and Instagram and “will serve as a one-
stop-shop to give people in the US the tools and information they need to
make their voices heard at the ballot box,” it said.
– ‘Hack-and-Leak’ –
Expected attacks include “hack-and-leak” tactics along the lines of those
used against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016,
Facebook said.
The tactic typically involves state-sponsored actors giving hacked
information to traditional media, then exploiting social media platforms to
spread the stories, according to Gleicher.
“We know it is an effective technique,” Gleicher said.
Facebook said the voter hub would evolve with the election season, from
focusing on registration and poll-worker volunteering matters to how to vote
in the pandemic and then tallying of ballots.
Facebook and Instagram users can use the tool to check if they are
registered to vote and how to do so if they are not.
– Tally turbulence –
Facebook is expecting malicious actors to try to exploit uncertainly about
the election or promote violence while votes are being counted, which is
expected to take longer than usual due to the pandemic prompting more people
to vote by mail.
The social network has created “red teams” and conducted internal exercises
to prepare, according to Gleicher.
US President Donald Trump has made unsubstantiated claims about the
reliability of voting by mail, a process he taken advantage of himself.
Facebook’s latest moves come amid concerns over campaigns by governments
aimed at influencing elections and public sentiment in other countries
through media outlets that disguise their true origins.
State-led influence campaigns were prominent on social media during the
2016 US election and have been seen around the world.
“Now Facebook seems to acknowledge the power it holds, and they are taking
actions to combat misinformation and bolster voter engagement,” said
University of Hartford school of communication assistant professor Adam
Chiara.
“Maybe some steps they are taking work and others are mistakes, but I would
rather have the platform try to be a positive force than be in denial of the
role it plays in our democracy.”