Meta has announced a sweeping plan to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, emphasizing its decade-long investment of over $30 billion in safety and security. The company says it will enforce policies against voter interference, electoral violence, and misinformation about voting procedures across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Stricter Rules Around Political Advertising
Any advertiser running election-related or political ads must complete an authorization process and include a “paid for by” disclaimer. These ads are stored in Meta’s publicly accessible Ad Library for seven years, which currently holds more than 18 million U.S. entries. During the final week of campaigning, all new political and social issue ads will be blocked, with only previously active ads permitted to continue running.
The company is also introducing updated requirements around artificial intelligence. Advertisers must now disclose when AI is used to create or alter political content. Meta says it will independently identify and label AI-generated media, and will penalize organic posts featuring digitally manipulated photorealistic video or audio.
Tackling Foreign Interference and Misinformation
Meta plans to display top-of-feed voting notifications on Facebook and Instagram, connecting users to local election information in multiple languages. Voting reminders will also be issued in coordination with state and local officials.
On the security front, Meta has removed 200 networks engaged in Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior since 2017. Threat intelligence staff will monitor midterm-related activity in real time, aiming to prevent foreign interference from repeating past controversies.
The announcement comes amid scrutiny of Meta’s political neutrality, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has appeared to align more closely with the current administration.