How Facebook’s new ad policy helps politicians who lie

Mark Zuckerberg has rigged the rules of Facebook political advertising, making him complicit in lies and voter manipulation. The result is the most powerful propaganda amplifier in history, boosting campaigns that traffic in falsehoods. Zuckerberg’s company screens some paid political advertising for lies. But since early October, it makes an exception: When candidates pay for the ads, it will run any ad — even those with blatant lies. Who does this exception help? Politicians who lie. The most prominent lying politician in America is, of course, President Donald Trump. Of more than 700 of Trump’s claims reviewed by the fact-checking site Politifact, more than 70% were rated “mostly false,” “false,” or “pants-on-fire” lies. My organization, MapLight, has been exposing negative influences on our democracy for fifteen years. We’ve written widely about how to solve the complicated and pervasive problems of political manipulation online. But you don’t need to be an expert to understand that spreading political lies for profit corrodes democracy. Zuckerberg follows in the footsteps of wealthy corporation owners throughout history who have aligned themselves with authoritarian leaders for profit. His propaganda machine boosts those who spread vicious lies to consolidate power, under the cover of free speech and sharing photos with grandma.

[Daniel G. Newman is president of the nonpartisan democracy organization MapLight]