News publishers protest Facebook's new political ad rules

Major news organizations raised objections to Facebook's plans to treat ads promoting political news coverage the same as political advocacy ads. Under changes Facebook will roll out May 22 aimed at combating the spread of political misinformation, all Facebook ads featuring political content will get a “Paid for by” label and would carry a disclaimer. Publishers say these new rules are too broad. These political messaging labels would also appear on "sponsored" posts that news organizations buy to amplify the reach of an article or video on the political news of the day. Lumping news publishers with political advocacy groups "dangerously blurs the lines between real reporting and propaganda," said a letter sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Friday by David Chavern, president and CEO of the News Media Alliance, which represents 2,000 news organizations in the U.S. and around the world.