Facebook is starting a test to revolutionize how advertising is used on the social network. The company says it will start to manually review advertisements that are targeted to certain groups. Specifically, the network will focus on ads that target religion, politics, social issues, and ethnicity.
Called “human review”, Facebook has already told advertisers that new requirements are needed. The company warns agencies that their ads may now be delayed as they are reviewed before being posted.
Facebook’s current automated advertising method has been criticised. The company has been accused of allowing the spread of fake news. Divisive and hateful content is often passed by the automation.
For example, ads promoting a specific divisive message would now be blocked through human review. Worse for Facebook is the recent news that it hosted ads linked to a Russian internet agency during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
10 million people are thought to have seen the ads. The company has come under congressional scrutiny as investigations into Russian involvement in the elections grows.
Aiming for Honest Content
Late last week, Facebook announced a new test feature that allow users to see additional context on articles in the News Feed.
The company says it is designed to give users the ability to decide which content they read. By relying on feedback from the community, users will get context on articles. For example, there is a new button that provides additional information before opening the article.
By using the Facebook Journalism Project, the company helps users to see how popular and valuable the article is.
“Helping people access this important contextual information can help them evaluate if articles are from a publisher they trust, and if the story itself is credible. This is just the beginning of the test.”
