Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking a page out of the Twitter handbook, revealing during a Facebook Live video Friday afternoon that the social network will begin labeling content from elected officials that it deems newsworthy, but that would otherwise violate its policies. (Adweek)
Specifically, Facebook said it would expand its policies around hate speech and prohibit a wider category of hateful language in ads on the site. A post that violates Facebook’s rules but is from an important political figure will get a label saying it was deemed “newsworthy” enough to remain, the company said. (NYT)
It’s not clear exactly what these labels will look like, when Facebook will start adding them to posts, or how strictly Facebook will interpret the new rules. Zuckerberg said the company would label “some of the content we leave up.” (Engadget)
The new policy marks a reversal for Zuckerberg and comes as more brands pledge to stop advertising on the social network until it does more to curb hate speech and harmful content. (NPR)
Zuckerberg also said the social network is taking additional steps to counter election-related misinformation. In particular, the social network will begin adding new labels to all posts about voting that will direct users to authoritative information from state and local election officials. (AP)