Facebook Creates ‘War Room’ to Counter Attempts at Election Interference

Facebook is creating a “war room” at the company’s HQ which will be used to counter attempts from foreign governments to influence U.S. elections.

According to Facebook’s Product Manager of Civic Engagement Samidh Chakrabarti, who was interviewed by NBC News, the war room is a “physical” room which will be used to “take quick and decisive action” against perceived instances of foreign interference during the midterm elections.

“We have many measures that we’ve put in place to try to prevent problems: the political ad transparency, blocking fake accounts, combating foreign interference, and preventing the spread of misinformation. But we know we have to be ready for anything that happens,” declared Chakrabarti. “And so that’s why we’ve been building this war room, a physical war room [with] people across the company, of all different disciplines, who are there. So, as we discover problems that may come up in the hours leading up to the election, we can take quick and decisive action.”

“I believe we’ve been making very rapid progress in all of these areas: Combating foreign interference, making sure that we can block and remove fake accounts, stopping the spread of misinformation and fake news on the platform, and then also bringing more transparency to political ads,” he continued. “I think we are in a much better place than we were in 2016. But it is an arms race. And so that’s why we’re remaining ever vigilant, laser focused to make sure that we can stay ahead of new problems that emerge.”

“This is going to be a never-ending process and that’s exactly why we’re investing so much in both people and technology,” Chakrabarti proclaimed. “To be as prepared as possible for the midterms.”

Facebook has itself meddled in the midterm elections, banning ads from Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng explaining her family’s history in Cambodia, which Facebook labeled “shocking, disrespectful, or sensational.” Facebook joined the other Masters of the Universe in a summit a few weeks ago devoted to stopping the spread of “misinformation” across social media before the elections.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is set to appear before the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, Wednesday, to discuss foreign interference online, along with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.