Meta Bans Over 400 Facebook Accounts In Preparation For Philippines' 2022 General Elections

In the lead-up to the Philippines' 2022 general elections, Meta Platforms, Inc FB says it has taken down over 400 accounts, Pages, and Groups focused on fake engagements.

This comes as a part of the Facebook parent company's move to crack down on hate speech and misinformation in collaboration with Philippines' Commission on Elections.

"Recently, we identified and removed a network that violated our policies against dangerous organizations. This included a network of Facebook Pages, groups, and accounts maintained by the New People's Army (NPA), a banned terrorist organization, for violating our policies prohibiting groups that have a violent mission or are engaging in violence," the company said.

What Happened: Weeks ago, the Philippines' presidential candidates had pressed for the need to hold social media firms like Facebook, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, and Twitter, Inc. TWTR liable for the spread of disinformation as the country prepares for elections, according to a Reuters report.

Facebook's inability to moderate non-English content in the Philippines was one of the biggest challenges for the social media giant. In order to overcome that, the company, in its blog post, announced that it had prepared a team of local experts who can speak the language and who have a deep understanding of the context on the ground in the Philippines.

Meta further added that advertisers in the Philippines will have to complete their ad authorizations process and include 'Paid for by' disclaimers on ads about elections, politics, and certain categories of social issues.

Meanwhile, the Philippines' 2022 general elections are scheduled to be held on May 9, and there are over 67 million eligible voters to select the Southeast Asian nation's next president and other officials.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Meta shares closed about 34% lower on Wednesday (EST) on Nasdaq.