Facebook Bans Misinformation on Voting Methods, Expanding Policy

Facebook Inc., the world’s largest social network, said it’s banning misinformation on its platform about how people can vote or whether their vote will count, broadening its policies to prevent voter suppression ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Facebook’s previous rules already barred misinformation about places, times and locations for voting, the company said Monday in a blog post. The new policy would cover some other issues that came up during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Both Facebook and Twitter Inc. contended with viral online posts -- including from Russian propagandists -- saying that U.S. voters could submit their ballot choices via text message, for example. Those posts came under Congressional scrutiny.

Other types of voting suppression, like posts that falsely say polling places are closed or facing violence, would be handled by the company’s third-party fact-checkers and down-ranked in the news feed if they’re found to be false.

Reuters reported earlier Monday that Facebook was expanding its ban on false information about voting.