The social media platform has been mired in controversy.
Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images
Facebook's controversies with political campaigns march ever on. Vice President of Facebook Asia Pacific Simon Milner reportedly delivered a judgement on Facebook's handling of potential fake news that spread on its platform during Australia's federal election this past May.
In correspondence seen by Guardian Australia, reported Tuesday, Facebook executive Simon Milner reportedly said it is not "our role to remove content that one side of a political debate considers to be false." The letter was reportedly sent to outgoing national secretary of Australia's Labor party, Noah Carroll, a month after Australia's 2019 election day.
In the lead up to the election, a misinformation campaign spread about Labor's plan to bring back the death tax, which Australia dropped back in the 1970s. Labor wrote to Facebook, telling the company that the death tax "fake news" could sway the election. Milner's letter was in response to Labor's appeal for posts to be taken down.
"I understand that your preference would be for Facebook to remove all content that you believe constitutes misinformation — which in this instance mean (sic) all content that discussed whether or not Labor intends to introduce a death tax — rather than demote it; however Facebook only removes content that violates our community standards," Milner reportedly said in the letter.
"We do not agree that is is our role to remove content that one side of a political debate considers to be false."
In the backwards and forwards between the Facebook executive and Labor, Milner reportedly said Facebook would support "the Australian government's work to safeguard the 2019 election." This comes following Australia's antitrust watchdog's Read More – Source
The social media platform has been mired in controversy.
Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images
Facebook's controversies with political campaigns march ever on. Vice President of Facebook Asia Pacific Simon Milner reportedly delivered a judgement on Facebook's handling of potential fake news that spread on its platform during Australia's federal election this past May.
In correspondence seen by Guardian Australia, reported Tuesday, Facebook executive Simon Milner reportedly said it is not "our role to remove content that one side of a political debate considers to be false." The letter was reportedly sent to outgoing national secretary of Australia's Labor party, Noah Carroll, a month after Australia's 2019 election day.
In the lead up to the election, a misinformation campaign spread about Labor's plan to bring back the death tax, which Australia dropped back in the 1970s. Labor wrote to Facebook, telling the company that the death tax "fake news" could sway the election. Milner's letter was in response to Labor's appeal for posts to be taken down.
"I understand that your preference would be for Facebook to remove all content that you believe constitutes misinformation — which in this instance mean (sic) all content that discussed whether or not Labor intends to introduce a death tax — rather than demote it; however Facebook only removes content that violates our community standards," Milner reportedly said in the letter.
"We do not agree that is is our role to remove content that one side of a political debate considers to be false."
In the backwards and forwards between the Facebook executive and Labor, Milner reportedly said Facebook would support "the Australian government's work to safeguard the 2019 election." This comes following Australia's antitrust watchdog's Read More – Source
