What you need to know
- Facebook is launching its Voting Information Centers for the 2020 election.
- It will give key information to voters on both Instagram and Facebook.
- Users can even use the app to register to vote, and Facebook wants to help 4 million people register this year.
Facebook has today launched its new Voting Information Center on both Facebook and Instagram.
In a news release today the company stated:
In June we announced that we're conducting the largest voting information campaign in American history, with the goal of helping 4 million voters register this year using Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. Today, as part of that campaign, we're launching our Voting Information Center on Facebook and Instagram, which will serve as a one-stop-shop to give people in the US the tools and information they need to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
The goal, Facebook says, is to help "every eligible voter in the US who uses our platform vote this year" whilst "protecting the integrity of our elections." The new Center will help connect all Facebook and Instagram users in the US with information about voting where they live. The initiative is nonpartisan, and everyone will get to see notifications at the top of Facebook and Instagram targeted by age and location so that the information is relevant. The announcement continues:
With many states making changes to the voting process because of the pandemic, the center is also designed to help people navigate a confusing election process. It is based on lessons from our COVID-19 Information Center, which has been providing accurate and authoritative information from health authorities about the pandemic since March. This will do the same for voting.
Facebook says users can use the Voting Information Center to check if they're registered to vote, and if not, register through a link that will take them to their state's website, or a nonpartisan partner. It will also give information about whether the state is using vote-by-mail, and help them request mail-in-ballots.
Other features including 'Voting Alerts' to bring news about elections to users, for example, late-breaking changes that could impact voting. It also has a Facts About Voting section to help quell misinformation.
Facebook has also made huge changes to the way users see political ads on its platform.
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