It is evident that ‘change’ is something that social media thrives on. Facebook, on similar lines, has always aimed to bring about changes that make networking a better experience and more relevant to the shifting customer preferences and trends. Many of these changes are welcomed, and an equal number of them aren’t. But that has never hindered Facebook from bringing in more changes under the tactful guise of an update.
The trigger for the update
Looking back at the mess Cambridge Analytica Scandal left behind for the social media giant, Facebook seems to have taken evasive privacy protection measures. They are now rolling out a range of privacy tools that aim to safeguard data. These changes in the privacy tools and settings allow finer page management. They also come with specific indicators and instructions that aim to fill the leaks that lead to the recent fiasco.
What is in the update?
One of these updates concerns itself with political ads. Not that long ago, Facebook rolled out an update that only verified advertisers would be allowed to run ads of electoral nature on the site. That is to say that if you as a person would want to post an electoral ad or post, you need to reveal your identity. This extended its application to the acquired platform Instagram also. This update also specified that any and every such ad would be labelled accordingly.
In accordance with this move, Zuckerberg mentions that people who manage Large Pages too will come under the purview of verification. This means a large number of fake accounts using Large Pages will now find it tough to function on the social media platform. This step is expected to bring down misinformation and fake posts substantially.
What does this mean for FB users?
However, Zuckerberg hasn’t entirely been clear on what counts as a large page nor has Facebook given out anything regarding the current verification process. But if we are to go by what the Boss says, then page managers would now have to go through a different verification process to confirm their identities. This step will strive to avoid foreign interference and influence in important events like elections.
In order to apply concrete measures to this, and to counter political issues birthed by non-political groups, Facebook now has something called “issue ads” in its arsenal.
How do the “Issue ads” aim to curb political influence?
As recorded by NYTimes, Zuckerberg says, “These steps by themselves won’t stop all people trying to game the system, but they will make it a lot harder for anyone to do what the Russians did during the 2016 elections and used fake accounts and pages to run ads.”
Facebook suggests that “issue ads” relate to topics that are being discussed across the country and that it is working with third-party services to enlist various keywords which would be refined as time goes on.
Facebook has constantly been under thorough scrutiny, owing to how big an audience it commands and how influential a source it ends up being.
But with these measures in place, Facebook hopes to curb the mishaps that dictate destinies thereon. What is your take on the new measures put in place by FB? Do write to us and let us know.
