Facebook may be preparing a “kill switch” to shut down political advertisements touting disinformation following the election.
The leaders of the social media company have been meeting daily to prepare for misinformation that could come from President Trump in case he loses the 2020 election, according to a report from the New York Times. Unnamed Facebook officials claimed that the company will work to shut down any attempts to delegitimize the contest from Trump or members of his campaign.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other top officials have discussed a kill switch that would prohibit political advertisements that cast doubt on the validity of the election. Alex Stamos, a former Facebook executive, said that Facebook and other social media platforms may need to treat the president as a “bad actor” after the election.
“We don’t have experience with that in the United States,” Stamos said.
A spokesman for Facebook refused to confirm its post-election plans, saying, “We continue to plan for a range of scenarios to make sure we are prepared for the upcoming election.”
Facebook, unlike Twitter, has declined to fact-check or censor content from Trump. Facebook also allows political advertisements, which Twitter does not. Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Twitter’s vice president of public policy, acknowledged that the company was also looking at strategies to limit misinformation “both before or after an election.”
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, and many others have expressed concern that Trump will not accept the election results if he loses. Trump has fueled these fears by refusing to say whether he will accept the results immediately on election night as he talks about the potential for voter fraud with widespread mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I have to see. Look, you — I have to see. No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time, either,” Trump told Fox News Sunday in July.
