Facebook won't accept new political ads in the week before the November election

Facebook is gearing up for the 2020 presidential election with a series of policy changes.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday announced the slate of changes the company will implement ahead of November's presidential election, which include rejecting any new political ads in the week prior to Election Day. Ads that started running before that week will still be allowed.

Additionally, noting that it may take some time for a winner to be declared in the presidential race due to the increased use of mail-in voting during the pandemic, Zuckerberg said Facebook plans to place a label on any posts from candidates trying to prematurely declare victory, and Facebook's voting information center will provide users with information about how there's "nothing illegitimate" about the result not coming in right away.

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Other steps Facebook will take include removing both explicit and implicit "misrepresentations" about voting. As an example, Zuckerberg said Facebook would remove a post that said, "I hear anybody with a driver's license gets a ballot this year," since this "might mislead you about what you need to do to get a ballot." The company will also remove posts claiming people will contract COVID-19 if they vote.

These changes come as Facebook has faced heavy criticism for the way it has dealt with misinformation on the platform, which sparked an advertiser boycott earlier this year. Last month, The New York Times reported that Facebook was preparing for the possibility of President Trump trying to delegitimize the election result on the platform. Trump has already claimed that the "only way" he will lose the election is if it's "rigged."

In his post announcing the changes, Zuckerberg expressed fears 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."