PARIS: A total of 2.2 million ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the upcoming US presidential election, Facebook’s vice-president Nick Clegg said in an interview published Sunday. In addition, warnings were posted on 150 million examples of false information posted online, the former British deputy prime minister told the French weekly Journal du Dimanche. Facebook has been increasing its efforts to avoid a repeat of events leading up to the 2016 US presidential election, won by Donald Trump, when its network was used for attempts at voter manipulation, carried out from Russia. There were similar problems ahead of Britain’s 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union. “Thirty-five thousand employees take care of the security of our platforms and contribute for elections,” said Mr Clegg, who is vice-president of global affairs and communications at Facebook. “We have established partnerships with 70 specialised media, including five in France, on the verification of information,” he added. –Agencies
