Meta threat reports indicate Russia has been the leading source of covert influence campaigns disrupted at the social networking giant's platform
Following the rampant spread of misinformation during the previous presidential polls, tech companies are keeping a much closer watch on content during the polls. AFP

Meta has announced extending its ban on new U.S. ads related to elections, politics, or social issues "until later this week" in a blog post on Monday. This decision comes just one day before the ban was set to expire on Election Day.

The move highlights tech companies' efforts to combat the widespread spread of misinformation, as experienced during the last presidential election. However, Meta did not disclose the specific date on which it will lift the restriction.

The social media giant, which owns Facebook and Instagram, clarified that ads already running before Oct. 29 and serving at least one impression can continue running with limited editing options. During this period, the advertisers will only be allowed to make changes related to the bid amount, budget, and scheduled end date for ads that need to include a disclaimer.

First implemented in 2020, the restriction period applies in the final week leading up to Election Day, which was originally set as the end date for these limitations.

Meta stated that the latest decision was based on the limited time available to challenge new claims. "In the final days of an election, we recognize that there may not be enough time to contest new claims made in ads," it said.

At the time when Meta introduced the policy during the 2020 elections, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that while he believes "the best antidote to bad speech is more speech," there would not be enough time before the election to verify the new claims made by either side. Ads related to politics and social issues that had already been published were still permitted, as they would have already been exposed to fact-checkers and journalists for scrutiny.

Besides political campaigns, Meta had blocked advertisers in other controlled industries from using its new generative AI advertising products last year.

Last month, Google's parent company, Alphabet, announced a similar update to its ad policy, stating that it would pause election-related ads in the U.S. after the polls close on Tuesday. The ban, however, will not be extended to "public information campaign ads run by state or federal government bodies responsible for administering election processes." The company added that it will inform the advertisers when it lifts the ban.

Over the past week, almost $1 billion has been spent on political ads, with most of the funds directed toward down-ballot races across the U.S. These low profile races include state and local elections, such as gubernatorial, congressional, and legislative contests, in addition to positions like mayoral and judicial races, reported CNBC.

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