Facebook announced this week that publishers with close ties to political entities such as PACs, politicians, and political parties will no longer be eligible for inclusion in Facebook News.
Facebook announced this week via its Facebook Journalism Project that any publishers that have close ties to political entities such as political parties, PACs, politicians, and other organizations that engage in influencing public policy or elections will not be eligible for inclusion in Facebook News.
The site further added that such publishers will not have access to news messaging on the Messenger Business Platform or the WhatsApp Business API. The company stated in its announcement that it believes that it’s important to ensure that these publishers are held to the same standards that political entities on Facebook are and must adhere to the authorization and disclaimer process for ads about social issues, elections, or politics in the Ad Library.
Facebook said in a statement:
Today, we’re introducing a new policy that will prevent publishers in the U.S. that are structurally tied to the types of entities described above from claiming the news exemption within the ads authorization process. Pages with these connections will still be allowed to register as a news Page and advertise on Facebook, but we’re implementing the following restrictions: news Pages with these affiliations will not be eligible for inclusion in Facebook News, and they won’t have access to news messaging on the Messenger Business Platform or the WhatsApp business API.
The site further stated that identifying politically connected publishers is a new process for the social media giant and the company will “learn and adapt as needed.” Facebook further promised to make ads on the platform more transparent and “protect the integrity of elections.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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