How Facebook prepares to fight elections interference in India

A usual blog post of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg' could have serious ramifications in the Indian election. Though it may go unnoticed, a reader's question on comment session and his answer point directly towards 2019 Indian elections. Particularity, when his blog post is titled "Preparing for Elections".  

Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has affirmed that he is very focused on elections all around the world, including India and will protect it from any sort of outward interference via his platform. 

In the blog post, he reaffirmed the safety of the platform and explained all the steps taken by the company in this regard.

General elections in India is due early next year and political parties will leave no-stone-unturned to influence voters via various medium, especially through social media.

“In 2016, we were not prepared for the coordinated information operations we now regularly face. But we have learned a lot since then and have developed sophisticated systems that combine technology and people to prevent election interference on our services,” he wrote.

The efforts include automated programs to find and remove fake accounts, featuring Facebook pages that spread disinformation less prominently so that fewer people potentially see them.

Impact on 2019 Indian elections

Importantly, Cambridge Analytica collected over 87 million users worldwide at the behest of Facebook and has been accused in cases of influencing elections in other countries as well.

Indian ruling alliance NDA, as well as opposition Indian National Congress, have also faced alleged connections with Cambridge Analytica.

Reacting on the report of the data analytics firm’s connection with Indian politicians, the government sent a show-cause notice directly to Zuckerberg asking whether the personal data of Indian voters and users have been compromised by Cambridge Analytica.

After the controversy, Minister for information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has threatened to take a strong stand against Facebook if it tries to manipulate an upcoming electoral process that will decide new central government.

Now, After Zuckerberg has made several promises to fix the system, it should reflect on the wall of Facebook users in India as well.