The Trump campaign on Thursday referred to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the “Silicon Valley Mafia” and slammed the social media giant for its new measures ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Facebook said Thursday it would block new political ads in late October, among other measures, to reduce misinformation and interference. Zuckerberg during an interview with CBS said Facebook’s new enforcement will “definitely apply to the president.”
"In the last seven days of the most important election in our history, President Trump will be banned from defending himself on the largest platform in America," Samantha Zager, the Trump campaign's deputy national press secretary, told Business Insider. "When millions of voters will be making their decisions, the President will be silenced by the Silicon Valley Mafia."
The social network said it would also strengthen measures against Facebook posts that attempt to dissuade people from voting and squash any candidates’ claims of false victories by redirecting users to accurate information on results.
“The US elections are just two months away, and with COVID-19 affecting communities across the country, I'm concerned about the challenges people could face when voting,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. “I'm also worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalized, there could be an increased risk of civil unrest across the country.
“This election is not going to be business as usual. We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy. That means helping people register and vote, clearing up confusion about how this election will work, and taking steps to reduce the chances of violence and unrest.”
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