Facebook Says, It Is Beefing Up Team To Thwart ‘Election Manipulation’

Facebook has said it will hire more than 1,000 people to thwart deceptive ads crafted to knock elections off course. The announcement came as the leading social network turned over to Congress some 3,000 ‘Russia-linked ad’s that appeared ahead of last year's elections in the United States.

"Today we are delivering those ads to congressional investigators," Facebook vice president of global policy Joel Kaplan said in an online post. "Many appear to amplify racial and social divisions."

The ads appeared to be linked to a Russian entity known as the Internet Research Agency and violated Facebook policies because they came from inauthentic accounts, according to Kaplan.

"Aggressive steps" by Facebook will include hiring more than 1,000 people to bolster its global ads review teams in the coming year, Kaplan said.

Facebook also planned to ramp up investment in machine learning to identify and take down ads violating the social network's policies.

"Enforcement is never perfect, but we will get better at finding and removing improper ads," Kaplan said.

Facebook will require those interested in running ads related to US elections to confirm businesses or organisations they represent.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg last month announced a crackdown on efforts to use the leading social network to meddle with elections.

Zuckerberg outlined a series of steps that would help prevent the manipulation of the social network, including more transparency on political ads. (PTI)