Facebook gets embroiled in controversy every other day, so it’s not surprising to note that the platform is currently undergoing a controversy of some sort as well. However, just because of the fact that the platform is in hot water does not mean that each individual controversy is no longer important.
If you look at the latest controversy, it surrounds political ads. The social media platform has been heavily criticized for publishing highly misleading ads as well as some political ads that were completely untrue from the get go. This can be highly dangerous because these ads are getting an enormous amount of visibility.
Instead of trying to make amends for these mistakes, Facebook decided to double down on its ad policy, stating that there was no reason why the platform would need to look into any kind of changes. This lead to quite a bit of embarrassment for Facebook as Twitter and Google rolled out changes that were meant to regulate political ads, with Twitter banning political ads outright and Google preventing ads from targeting people based on their political affiliation as well as their public voting history.
However, in the wake of the heavy criticism that they have received, Facebook has decided to make a few changes, that is according to WSJ. While these changes are not all that big, they are definitely a step in the right direction. Now ads will have to target a mere thousands of users instead of hundred thousands, thereby reducing their manipulative potential by a significant margin.
Photo: Thibault Camus/AP
Read next: Facebook Launches New Tools for Advertisers Amidst Political Ad Controversy
If you look at the latest controversy, it surrounds political ads. The social media platform has been heavily criticized for publishing highly misleading ads as well as some political ads that were completely untrue from the get go. This can be highly dangerous because these ads are getting an enormous amount of visibility.
Instead of trying to make amends for these mistakes, Facebook decided to double down on its ad policy, stating that there was no reason why the platform would need to look into any kind of changes. This lead to quite a bit of embarrassment for Facebook as Twitter and Google rolled out changes that were meant to regulate political ads, with Twitter banning political ads outright and Google preventing ads from targeting people based on their political affiliation as well as their public voting history.
However, in the wake of the heavy criticism that they have received, Facebook has decided to make a few changes, that is according to WSJ. While these changes are not all that big, they are definitely a step in the right direction. Now ads will have to target a mere thousands of users instead of hundred thousands, thereby reducing their manipulative potential by a significant margin.
Photo: Thibault Camus/AP
Read next: Facebook Launches New Tools for Advertisers Amidst Political Ad Controversy
