Facebook and TikTok are approving ads with 'blatant' misinformation about voting in midterms, researchers say

Key Facts

Biden admin close to making deal that will regulate TikTok 01:50 - Source: CNN New York CNN Business — Facebook and TikTok failed to block advertisements with “blatant” misinformation about when and how to vote in the US midterms, as well as about the integrity of the voting process, according to a new report from human rights watchdog Global Witness and the Cybersecurity for Democracy Team (C4D) at New York University.
In response to the report, a spokesperson for Facebook-parent Meta said the tests “were based on a very small sample of ads, and are not representative given the number of political ads we review daily across the world.”
TikTok, whose influence and scrutiny in US politics has grown in recent election cycles, launched an Elections Center in August to “connect people who engage with election content to authoritative information,” including guidance on where and how to vote, and added labels to clearly identify content related to the midterm elections, according to a company blog post.
“As we have set out before, we want to continue to develop policies that foster and promote a positive environment that brings people together, not divide them,” Blake Chandlee, President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok, said in a blog post at the time.