Technology Facebook pulls false political ad about Sen. Graham

Facebook took down a political ad from its platform for containing false information about Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, the company's ads database shows. The move demonstrates that while politicians' ads are exempt from fact checking, ads purchased by political groups aren't.

© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. Facebook has reportedly removed an ad from a political action committee that contained false information. Angela Lang/CNET

The ad, which was placed by the political action committee The Really Online Lefty League, included a video that falsely claimed that Graham had supported the Green New Deal. The broad proposal aimed to reduce greenhouse gases and move the nation to 100 percent renewable energy.

Fake Facebook Ad Claiming Lindsey Graham Backs the Green New Deal is Actually a Test for Zuckerberg

"It just shows you that only is Facebook not enforcing any kind of truth in advertising, there's no tools for people to get it to the fact-checkers—that I can see—and people believe it," the man behind the fake 90-second ad told Newsweek.That's why it may seem odd to see a Facebook ad claim the prominent Republican has not only endorsed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) ambitious climate change initiative but that he's also rallying his GOP colleagues to do the same.

Lead Stories, Facebook's fact-checking partner, said in a post on Saturday it rated the ad as false prompting the social network to pull down the ad. Facebook doesn't allow advertisers to run ads that have been rated false by third-party fact checkers. The video that contains the false claim that Graham supported the Green New Deal is still available on The Really Online Lefty League's Facebook page but it includes a disclaimer that it includes misinformation.

© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. Facebook's ads database shows a false ad by The Really Online Lefty League was taken down for violating the social network's ad policies. Screenshot by Queenie Wong/CNET

The group created the Facebook ad after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, asked CEO Mark Zuckerberg if it was okay for her to run Facebook ads falsely claiming that Republicans voted for the Green New Deal. Lead Stories said in the post the lawmaker would be allowed to run the ad because Facebook doesn't send posts from politicians to third-party fact checkers. But in this case, the false Facebook ad about the Green New Deal wasn't from Ocasio-Cortez.

Facebook takes down false ad from PAC on Republican Graham

Facebook Inc said on Saturday that it had removed an ad which falsely claimed that U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham supported the Green New Deal, demonstrating that it will fact-check ads from political groups but not politicians. © Reuters Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott The ad, which ran on Friday, was put up as a stunt by a left-leaning Political Action Committee, or PAC, called The Really Online Lefty League, to test Facebook's political ad policies.

© CNET

Facebook has reportedly removed an ad from a political action committee that contained false information.

"Any third party posting the same claim would be eligible to be rated and since The Really Online Lefty League is not a politician (or running for office) Lead Stories has rated their ad as 'False,' " the post from Lead Stories stated.

Since the 2016 US presidential election, Facebook has been trying to prove it's doing what it must to combat misinformation on the site and thwart election meddling from Russia, Iran and other countries. The social network has cracked down on the issue through a variety of means, including partnerships with fact-checking organizations and advertisements in newspapers.

Facebook said in September it would continue to exempt politicians from its third-party fact-checking process because their speech is considered newsworthy content. But not everyone is a fan of this rule, including some of Facebook's former employees.

Facebook takes down fake political ad meant to test its fact checking

Facebook's stance on truth in political ads has been put to the test. The social media giant has removed a 'stunt' ad from a Political Action Committee, the Really Online Lefty League, that falsely claimed Republican Senator Lindsey Graham supported the Green New Deal proposed by some Democrats. A company spokesman told Reuters that the ad was eligible for a fact-checking review since it came from a political action group rather than a politician.The ad was prompted by a line of questioning from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who asked Mark Zuckerberg at an October 23rd House hearing if Facebook would let her get away with posting a misleading ad about Graham.

The decision to not fact-check politicians' ads has drawn criticism from Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former vice president Joe Biden. To illustrate her point, Warren took out an ad earlier this month that falsely claimed Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had endorsed the re-election of President Donald Trump. The social network left up the ad.

Zuckerberg defended its decisions on Monday, saying that by accepting political ads, Facebook was helping people hear the voices of politicians challenging incumbents. "From a business perspective, this controversy isn't worth the very small part of our business that this makes up, so this isn't about money," Zuckerberg said.

Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Graham ad.

Originally published Oct. 27, 9:31 a.m. PT

Update, 1:20 p.m. PT: Includes information from fact checker and Facebook's ad database.

Republican US Senator Calls for Severe Military Attack on Iran

© NICHOLAS KAMM Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called for an "overwhelming" military attack on Iran. Graham, a confidant of President Donald Trump, commented after a briefing by the National Security Advisor.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called for an "overwhelming" military attack on Iran. Graham, a trusted friend of President Donald Trump, said Monday after a meeting with National Security Advisor John Bolton. He is known for his aggressive attitude towards Tehran.

Graham wrote to Twitter that it is clear that Iran has threatened "American interests in Iraq" in recent weeks. If the country "activates" its threats against American personnel, the US would have to oppose it with an "overwhelming military response."

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Democrat Ruben Gallego opposed. He could see the same intelligence files as Graham, he tweeted, accusing the Republican of not having reproduced their contents properly. Instead, the Republican "draws the conclusion he wants for himself and for the media," Gallego wrote.

security adviser Bolton had already called for a military operation against Iran before he took office in the White House. Trump had emphasized in the past that he did not want to go to war with Iran. On Sunday, however, the president, known for his impulsive Twitter messages, threatened to destroy the country: "If Iran wants to fight, this will be the official end of Iran. Never again threaten the US," Trump wrote.

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