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Biden’s campaign ads blocked due to technical glitch at Facebook, Biden furious over the loss

On Thursday, Facebook admitted that some of Joe Biden’s campaign ads were blocked due to a technical error. The tech giant confirmed a glitch at the center, which stopped some of the campaign ads from getting to the public within time.

The Facebook headquarters said in a blog post that the ads were prevented from reaching the audience. Some technical issues are to be blamed for these ads to be paused from various advertisers improperly. The flaw also blocked the advertisers from changing the details in their ads while this flaw was sustained.

They also admitted that this glitch did not affect many of the campaign’s ads, but only a small portion of such ads was paused. The company claimed that they made necessary changes to stop such issues from impacting any of their future users. They also said that most paused ads are now free to run on the platform after the fix.

The week before the elections, and Facebook has already made it clear in September 2020 that they will not allow new ads to be posted on the platform a week before the elections. This restriction started acting from Tuesday after 12:01 am PT.

However, some technical issues with their automated system are responsible for reviewing ads. The confusion with the details of some ads posted on the forum caused these ads to be paused incorrectly.

Facebook said that the advertisers were quick with adapting to the rule and made some changes with the audiences just before the deadline of restriction kicked in. They managed to get their ads posted in time. The company accepts that it might be a lack of explanation from their side that these advertisers were able to do so, however.

Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for the presidential elections 2020, slammed the platform claiming that Facebook has caused his campaign significant damage. He said that these ads being postponed seem unnatural and that it has affected the voter turnout for him. The persuasion ads which were to be posted on the platform to help his voters decide to vote for him were paused, and the glitch cost his campaign a total of $500,000 in fundraising.

Rob Flaherty, Biden’s campaign’s digital director, said, “For more than a year, our campaign has engaged with Facebook in good faith to both better understand their shifting policies around elections and to push for equal and measurable enforcement of those rules. Once again, just five days before Election Day, they have failed to meet the moment,”

He continued saying that the company’s internal conflict and issues have caused them damage so near the election date, which was disappointing, to say the least. In his words: “We find ourselves five days out from Election Day unable to trust that our ads will run properly, or if our opponents are being given an unfair, partisan advantage.”

Facebook has ultimately denied the glitch to be in anyone’s favor. The company said the delay in these ads is an issue without favor or bias against any presidential candidate. They said that the rules are equal for everyone and that each candidate has the same set of instructions for their campaign.

They said, “No ad was paused or rejected by a person, or because of any partisan consideration. The technical problems were automated and impacted ads from across the political spectrum. Both Presidential campaigns, advertisers across the political spectrum, and both Presidential campaigns were confused by our guidance and had ads paused as a result.”

Biden and his campaign leaders are still blaming the tech giant for their loss, saying that the company was unprepared to handle the elections. They claim that despite having four years to prepare for the day, they have disappointed their response and technical issues.

Experts say that the intent behind Facebook’s restriction for election ads was a well-thought one. However, it is evident that the matter was not handled correctly, and the limitation had many unexplained rules within it. It seems that knowingly or unknowingly, the company has favored one candidate while making the other lost their faith in the platform’s transparency.

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