New Facebook and Instagram Options Let US Users Turn Off Political Ads

facebook iconFacebook is adding the option for users to turn off all political advertising in the Facebook and Instagram apps from today, the company has announced in a blog post.

The option will pop up for users directly on any political ad that appears on the two Facebook-owned platforms. Users will also be able to hide ads by clicking on the advertisement or by accessing a new menu option in either of the app's ad settings.

The new ability to disable political ads will apply to political, electoral, and social issue ads from candidates, Super PACs and other organizations that include the "Paid for by" political disclaimer.

The option will appear immediately for some U.S. users and roll out more broadly in the coming weeks. Facebook says is also plans to make the setting available outside the U.S. in countries where it has enforcement on ads about social issues, elections and politics.


In addition, Facebook says it is ensuring ads are more transparent by making sure the "Paid for by" disclaimers on political ads follow them after they've been shared. It is also allowing anyone who uses the company's Ad Library to track ad spending for Congressional races, rather than just making it available for U.S. presidential campaigns.

Along with the changes to how it manages political ads, Facebook also announced a Voting Information Center that will provide information on how and where to vote, as well as how to register to vote and how to vote by mail. Users can also turn on alerts that will remind them to vote and direct them to polling places when voting begins in November.

facebook voting center
"We've built some of the most advanced systems in the world to combat election interference," said Facebook. "The Voting Information Center will be another line of defense."

In an op-ed published in USA Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg suggested these efforts were a response to criticisms about the platform's lack of action to curb the spread of misinformation online.

"Everyone wants to see politicians held accountable for what they say — and I know many people want us to moderate and remove more of their content. We have rules against speech that will cause imminent physical harm or suppress voting, and no one is exempt from them. But accountability only works if we can see what those seeking our votes are saying, even if we viscerally dislike what they say.

"Ultimately, I believe the best way to hold politicians accountable is through voting, and I believe we should trust voters to make judgments for themselves. That's why I think we should maintain as open a platform as possible, accompanied by ambitious efforts to boost voter participation."

Facebook says its goal is to register 4 million voters this year using Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, which is double the number of people it believes it helped register in 2016 and 2018.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

SBlue1 Avatar
49 months ago
political ads should be forbidden because it favors the richer candidates with richer donors. And rich donors kind of make you corrupt since you don’t want to do anything that would make them stop supporting you the next term.

Or at least start by making negative political ads illegal. So many ads try to throw dirt on the opponent. Don’t say why the other candidate is not good. Better say why you are better suited for the job.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appleguy123 Avatar
49 months ago
The people who most need to turn them off will be the most likely to leave them on.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gleepskip Avatar
49 months ago

If Biden ran an ad showing Trump doing something as President, that is factual. And very good chances it is negative.
Negative ads about Trump is about all he has. The Democrat election is about getting rid of Trump, not grand new visions of what our country could be. It's puzzling to me that the DNC sunk the campaigns of so many candidates that appeared to have vision and handed the party to a white guy with dementia.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wanted797 Avatar
49 months ago
Not sure if I like this.

Sounds good. But it’s Facebook so is more than likely sketchy.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
49 months ago
Sounds like just another way allow echo chambers to become more and more of a problem. "I'm going to turn off political ads, instead, I'll believe all of the tripe that my friends claim from their own skewed point of view!".

Facebook should focus more attention on preventing misinformation from circulating in the first place, or if it does get circulated, make efforts to notify people retroactively it was incorrect. It's all very well marking a post / Tweet as "incorrect" a few hours after it was posted, and after millions have seen it - they'll not go back and see it was flagged.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnipgnop Avatar
49 months ago
Facebook: "We want the money from disinformation campaigns, so we're going to continue to take it while punting the actual responsibility to our users".
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...