“Facebook Protect” launched last October to help candidates and election officials secure their accounts on both Facebook and Instagram. The free service promises quicker and more active account monitoring than standard users receive, including the flagging of unusual login locations or unverified devices. Once a single account associated with a campaign or election administrator is flagged, Facebook says it will take action to protect any accounts also affiliated with the same organization.
In August, Facebook also launched its “US 2020 Voting Information Center,” designed to help users learn if they’re registered to vote, where their polling places are and what their state’s absentee options are. Voters can register and request absentee ballots from links on the site and receive “voting alerts” from state and local election authorities, which the company said could be valuable in communicating last minute changes to polling places or election processes.
And while misinformation and disinformation remain rampant on its platform, Facebook has in recent weeks taken stronger action to delete pages associated with conspiracy theories and the coronavirus pandemic, and has also flagged posts by President Donald Trump urging his supporters to vote twice, which is illegal. The company announced earlier this month that it would also block all new political advertising for a week before the Nov. 3 election to reduce the spread of misinformation.
