FACEBOOK BANS MILITARIZED CALLS FOR US POLL WATCHING

Facebook banned calls for poll watching that use “militarized language,” as it tightened a slew of restrictions ahead of US elections next month amid mounting alarm that unfounded claims online could result in violence, Katie Paul reported for Reuters.

The world's biggest social network is scrambling to adjust its rules for the Nov. 3 vote, despite saying last month that it had set its final policies, as Republicans mobilize thousands of volunteers to watch polls to trawl for evidence backing up President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated complaints about voter fraud.

The president’s son Donald Trump Jr. sought such volunteers for this “Army for Trump” in a September video that racked up millions of views on social media. Facebook is allowing that video to stay up, while confirming that it would be in violation of the company’s new rules.

“When we change our policies, we generally do not apply them retroactively,” Facebook Vice President of Content Policy Monika Bickert told reporters on a call. “Under the new policy, if that video were to be posted again we would indeed be removing it.”