Culture
Pinterest emerges as the only good social media platform by banning fake news
The company wants to support the 2020 election and census.
As other social media platforms continue to fumble their handling of political content, Pinterest is taking a stand by banning disinformation. The change comes as part of its new civic participation policy, with Pinterest specifically pointing to the 2020 election and census as processes that need to be respected.
The Census Bureau is a direct partner — Any content, including ads, that spreads misinformation about voting, voter registration, or taking part in the census will be removed. Pinterest will work directly with the Census Bureau, sharing any content removed from the platform so that the bureau can flag it on other platforms.
The bureau will also be featured at the Pinterest 100 event today in order to emphasize the importance of the census. A banner placed on the search tab point to the Census' official website when any census-related search is made.
Surveying Pinterest's peers — Facebook continues to shirk full responsibility by allowing users to opt out of political ads but not limiting the way ads are targeted. It does have a policy for removing fake news with confirmation by a third-party, but resources are limited and the policy doesn't apply to ads directly from politicians and political parties.
Earlier this month, Twitter apologized for allowing advertisements to target hate groups, serving as evidence that banning all political ads doesn't solve everything on a platform where Nazis and other nefarious groups continue to prosper.
