Facebook Pulls False PragerU Ad About Oz Wildfires

Buzzfeed News reports:

Facebook has taken down an ad from the conservative organization PragerU that contained misinformation about deadly wildfires in Australia — but only took the action days after a formal fact-checking review was completed. The incident shows that while the social media giant says it is working to remove misinformation about the fires, it is continuing to accept money in exchange for aiding the spread of false information.

The video — which begins with footage of actors Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Aniston talking about the bushfires at the Golden Globes — falsely claims arsonists are responsible for half of Australia’s bushfires, and “not climate change”. It also features debunked claims from an article published in The Australian newspaper that used misleading figures to overstate the role of arson in the bushfires.

Read the full article.