We’re not the only ones irked by Facebook’s many political ads. Now, none other than Star Wars actor Mark Hamill is criticizing Facebook for its policies. The actor went as far as deleting his Facebook account.
The man who played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise admitted this move will be met with ‘who cares’ reactions. However, Hamil says he did it for himself and is content with his decision.
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In a tweet, Mark Hamill announced that he had deleted his Facebook account due to his concerns.
“So disappointed that #MarkZuckerberg values profit more than truthfulness that I’ve decided to delete my Facebook account.”
So disappointed that #MarkZuckerberg values profit more than truthfulness that I've decided to delete my @Facebook account. I know this is a big "Who Cares?" for the world at large, but I'll sleep better at night. #PatriotismOverProfits 🇲🇾>💰 https://t.co/seb2eJMTo6
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) January 12, 2020
Following the United States Presidential Elections 2016, many fake news pages were identified and flagged. Yet measures were not taken to counter fake news or even political adverts.
Now with yet another US Election approaching this year, people want Facebook to do better. The company’s lack of action over political messaging has prompted a lot of criticism. Many celebs including comedian Sacha Baron Cohen are calling Facebook the ‘greatest propaganda machine in history‘
Outrageous. This is Facebook’s idea of change? #MarkZuckerberg, you STILL take politicians’ money, STILL refuse to fact check their ads and STILL microtarget their lies to your +2 billion users. Mark, the demagogues of the world thank you!https://t.co/YbblXHC8LQ
— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) January 9, 2020
Facebook Policies
Twitter has already banned political adverts from its platform in 2019. Meanwhile, Google also has a policy to ‘fact check demonstrably false claims’ and altogether banning micro-targeting adverts.
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Facebook, on the other hand, is doing what they always do, nothing. On January 9th, they stated that they planned to provide more transparency and controls. Meaning they’ll throw the ball into its users’ courts much like its privacy policy.
Expanded Transparency and More Controls for Political Ads https://t.co/Ytd2uElxGA pic.twitter.com/ITMdWMY3zZ
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) January 9, 2020
The company is adamant about allowing such advertisements. With all the previous data breaches on the platform, this development doesn’t sound too good for users.
