Facebook is no longer allowing advertisers to use pseudoscience as a category with which to target people.
The company eliminated the pseudoscience category from its “detailed targeting” list on Wednesday, the spokeswoman said by phone, after tech news site The Markup showed that it could advertise a post targeting people interested in pseudoscience.
The Markup demonstrated that Facebook was allowing such ads after saying it would police COVID-19 misinformation on its platform. More than 78 million Facebook users were interested in “pseudoscience,” it said, citing Facebook’s ad portal.
Good to see Facebook doing this. Now we just need YouTube to stop recommending conspiracy videos.
Check It Out: Facebook Removes ‘Pseudoscience’ Category for Targeted Ads
Hey, nothing wrong with conspiracy videos on YouTube. But some of those conspiracy theory videos are another thing (and I mean real ones like many CNN “reports”). I cannot believe some of the crazy stories and theories the mainstream media was putting out in January and February and did a complete 180 on it, in a few days. One day, nothing to see here and nothing to worry about, and the next, your all going to be on lockdown and could die, type of change. Public went nuts.
Thanks to what you would call “conspiracy” news platforms, I already knew how serious the virus was and what was coming (lock downs, runs on food etc. everything that happened thus far, exactly) and was able to be ready for it by the time the masses were told and started liquidating the shelves.
All Facebook is doing is killing the ability for free speech advertising. This is close to the final nail in the coffin. But anyone who cares about that anyway, is not going to be on Facebook in the first place.