Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s campaign to encourage voting this year has registered 4.4 million voters.
Zuckerberg made the announcement in a Facebook post, but he did not give any details as to where the voters were registered or any demographic break down of the people.
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He said, “This year, we launched the largest voting information campaign in US history, with the goal of helping 4 million people register to vote. Today, we hit our goal. We estimate we’ve helped 4.4 million people register across our apps — based on conversion rates we calculated from states we’ve partnered with.”
The campaign started in June with the launch of Facebook’s Voting Information Center. It gives potential voters information on how and when to vote, as well as details about voter registration, voting by mail and information about early voting. It also includes posts from state election officials and verified local election authorities.
The Facebook founder has done a lot this year in an attempt to undo the damage caused to his company’s image for its part in the proliferation of fake news during the 2016 Presidential elections.
Just two weeks ago Mark Zuckerberg pledged $100 million to aid election security this year.
And in September he and his wife Priscilla Chan donated $300 million to promote more open elections in 2020. $250 million went to the Center for Tech and Civil Life which we used the money to fund local election jurisdictions across the United States to help ensure that they have “the staffing, training, and equipment necessary so that this November every eligible voter can participate in a safe and timely way and have their vote counted.”
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This year, we launched the largest voting information campaign in US history, with the goal of helping 4 million people…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, October 26, 2020
But according to a report in the Washington Post, Zuckerberg may actually be helping Republicans and Trump supporters to promote his reelection. The publication has accused Facebook of undermining liberal news sites.
Apparently, Facebook’s program to block fake news has black listed certain sources backed by liberal groups. These include attempts to get out the vote in so called battleground states. Higher voter turnout in these states is seen as being more helpful to Joe Biden.
In August the New York Times reported that Facebook is dominated by the political right truly is. “Pro-Trump political influencers have spent years building a well-oiled media machine that swarms around every major news story, creating a torrent of viral commentary that reliably drowns out both the mainstream media and the liberal opposition,” wrote the Times.
Clearly, a major company like Facebook needs to remain in the good graces of whoever sits in the White House. It I not so clear, however, if Mark Zuckerberg is pushing for a specific candidate.
