False Political Posts Viewed 150M Times On FB In 2019

Politico reports:

False news reports that attack U.S. politicians have been viewed more than 150 million times on Facebook since the beginning of 2019, according to an analysis published Wednesday that points to a growing threat of deception swamping next year’s elections.

The analysis, from the activist group Avaaz, highlights how misinformation — often targeting political figures like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump — is still widely accessible on the world’s largest social network despite pledges by Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive, to combat misinformation and other false reports on the global network.

“We’re heading towards a Titanic-sized disaster,” Fadi Quran, campaign director at Avaaz, told POLITICO in reference to the 2020 election. “Facebook is not being transparent about the problem. There’s no telling how much disinformation content is being spread.”