Politics is one of the many sensitive topics that has a great impact on social media, especially in election years. For this reason, Facebook would consider forming a commission to advise on decision-making on electoral issues that are presented on the social network.
This is indicated by a report by The New York Times, according to which Facebook has already consulted “academics and political experts” about the creation of the alleged commission. The company's idea would be to announce the new advisory body in the fall, in preparation for the upcoming US legislative elections. It is worth noting that would have global interference , and not only on what happens in North America.
Facebook's electoral commission would have to intervene on topics that are always sensitive. In this way, for example, it should define what to do against the disclosure of false or misleading information about the elections and their candidates; or establish the viability of political advertising.
According to the report, the social network would try to replicate what was done in 2018, when it created the Supervisory Council (Oversight Board). This body was formed by the company but works independently. Its purpose is to review the decisions with the greatest impact made by Mark Zuckeberg and company, and define whether they are correct or not. Undoubtedly, his most relevant task in recent times has been to analyze the expulsion of Donald Trump from the platform, after the assault on the Capitol at the beginning of the year.
What Facebook would try to achieve by setting up an electoral commission would be, then, to show the world that decisions related to political content would not be in the hands of a handful of managers .
An electoral commission that would proactively advise Facebook
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash In recent years, Facebook received harsh criticism from different political sectors . The most emblematic controversies occurred in the United States, with examples such as Russian interference when Donald Trump became president, and the dissemination of false accusations of electoral fraud in the victory of Joe Biden; however, they are not exclusive to that country.
In fact, in 2020 a former data analyst criticized the social network and accused it of “being indifferent to global political manipulation” . In addition, it exhibited details on how disinformation campaigns related to elections were neglected in Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Spain, and India, among other countries.
According to the information accessed by NYT, the electoral commission would be in charge of proactively advising Facebook . In this way, the participation of the advisory body would be given before a decision is made; Contrary to what happens with the Supervisory Board, whose intervention occurs when the determinations have already been made.
