Sign in Subscribe
Cable News Network

Biden Campaign Escalates Attacks on Facebook Over Misinformation on Platform

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Biden campaign is launching a renewed attack on Facebook over its handling of misinformation and false political advertisements, with the presumptive Democratic nominee calling on the platform to implement rules prohibiting threatening behavior and lies about voting. The campaign, which has spent millions of dollars on Facebook ads, is urging its supporters to sign an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-founder and chief executive, calling for the platform to take a stronger stance against misinformation. Facebook, however, is standing its ground, pointing to President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at preventing social media sites from fact-checking political statements.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Biden campaign is launching a push against Facebook, calling on the platform to implement rules prohibiting threatening behavior and lies about voting.
  • The campaign is urging its millions of supporters to sign an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, calling for Facebook to take a stronger stance against misinformation.
  • Facebook has refused to change its approach, pointing to President Trump's executive order aimed at preventing social media sites from fact-checking political statements.
  • The Biden campaign has spent millions of dollars on Facebook ads, including $5 million in recent weeks.
  • Twitter, a rival social media platform, has begun labeling some tweets as false or misleading, including those from President Trump.
  • Facebook does some fact-checking on its site, but politicians are exempt from this.
  • Top Biden aides have mocked Facebook's response, accusing the company of undermining the democratic process.

Statistics:

  • $5 million: The amount the Biden campaign spent on Facebook ads in recent weeks.
  • $1.6 million: The amount the Biden campaign spent on Facebook ads last Thursday alone.
  • 2 weeks: The proposed two-week period before the election in which all political advertisements must be fact-checked before they appear on Facebook.

Sources:

  • Eric Bradner and Sarah Mucha, CNN ( Buttigieg, P., & Stokes, B., 2020 CNN)
  • Facebook's response to the Biden campaign's open letter, as posted on its website.
  • Bill Russo, Biden communications director, as quoted in the article.
  • Rob Flaherty, Biden digital director, as quoted in the article.

Read more