The platform will, for example, display recommendations for people to search for elections on official websites.
Pinterest announced a series of measures against fake news for the 2022 elections. Among them are research recommendations and the non-monetization of content related to the election. The goal, according to the platform, is to prevent, identify and deter harmful content, including disinformation and hate speech.
In addition to Brazil, the measures also apply to Australia, France and the Philippines, which will also have elections this year.
The Pinterest ad follows the path already taken by other platforms. Recently, Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, reported that the two social networks will have a whistleblower channel dedicated to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
According to the company, when a complaint is received, Meta will analyze it and, if the content violates the platforms’ policies, it will be removed.
See below the measures announced by Pinterest:
search recommendations
When people search for terms like ‘vote’ or ‘elections’, Pinterest will display a search recommendation with the following message: “If you’re looking for information about the 2022 election, including how and where to vote, go to an official website“.
Limitation of Election-Related Content
Prior to voting day, the platform will limit search recommendations for election-related content to a few locations, such as the home feed, Related Pins, notifications, or the ‘more ideas’ area within a board.
No exceptions for public figures
Pinterest ensures that, in the community guidelines, there are no exceptions for public figures. According to the platform, if someone posts content that violates policies on disinformation, hate speech, etc., Pinterest has said it will take appropriate action, “whether or not the person is a public figure.”
No monetization of electoral content
The platform said that since 2018, it does not accept political campaign ads on Pinterest. Also, it does not monetize election-related content. This means it doesn’t show any ads when searching for common election-related terms like candidate names, “polling locations” and “vote”.
