Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is worried about potential violence in the wake of the US elections on November 3, he said Thursday with the approach of a poll under high political tension, in the form of a test for the social network .
“I am worried that there is a risk of civil unrest across the country, as our nation is so divided and the election results will potentially take days or weeks to be finalized,” he said. a conference to analysts on his company’s quarterly results.
With the pandemic, and the mobilization of voters for or against the controversial Donald Trump, postal voting is exploding, raising fears that the count may take longer than usual.
Given these circumstances, “companies like ours must do more than ever before” to protect confidence in the electoral process and prevent platforms from being used to proclaim victory ahead of time or to call for violence in the electoral process. street.
Mark Zuckerberg recalled some of the safeguards put in place, such as the ban on all advertising on social or political subjects, on its platforms in the United States, at the closing of polling stations, to reduce risks of “confusion or abuse” for as long as it takes.
“Next week is going to be a test for Facebook,” he admitted, keen to prove that his company really learned the lessons of 2016, when massive disinformation campaigns, some of which were piloted from Russia, were ‘networks were used to disseminate their propaganda on a large scale and in a targeted manner.
This week the ban on new political ads during the last seven days of the campaign was marked by boondoggles.
Facebook has been accused of passing up ads from Trump’s campaign targeting key US states, claiming election day was last Tuesday.
The words of his boss come as Walmart has decided to temporarily withdraw weapons and ammunition from its shelves.
The American distribution giant took this precaution, after violent demonstrations in Philadelphia and in the context of political tensions which have degenerated on several occasions for months, in particular during demonstrations linked to the movements “Black lives Matter” (the black lives count).
In downtown Washington, multiple apartment buildings began barricading doors and windows with plywood sheets on Wednesday in anticipation of possible post-election night protests.