Facebook is preparing for the United States to rely on mail-in voting for the 2020 presidential election and will educate users on the process, in an effort to get ahead of potential disinformation.
The social media platform has planned a curriculum around "getting people ready for the fact that there's a high likelihood that it takes days or weeks to count this — and there's nothing wrong or illegitimate about that," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a New York Times interview.
Facebook could also implement new rules around premature claims of victory or other results, he added.
Dozens of states have expanded vote-by-mail access, as the coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S. Vote by mail will give people a safe way to cast a ballot in November. But, it will take much longer for results to be tallied than on a typical Election Day.
However, disinformation could surge on social media platforms with new election changes. Some Republican politicians have objected to expanding access to mail-in ballots. President Donald Trump has even said, for example, that results will be "inaccurate" and "fraudulent."
Social media platforms, including Facebook, have flagged some of the president's claims surrounding mail-in voting and redirected users to voting information. Zuckerberg told the Times that Facebook will pull results from wire services to provide accurate information on the election.
