Facebook Is Bracing for an Election Night Without Results

  • Covid outbreak means election less predictable, executive says
  • Social network to put results in new voter information hub
Watch: Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook Inc.’s head of cybersecurity policy, discusses the social network's preparations for the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and the actions it's taking against conspiracy groups including the far-right QAnon.(Source: Bloomberg)
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Facebook Inc. executives are preparing for the possibility that results for the U.S. general election in November won’t be clear enough to declare winners immediately in some contests, increasing the likelihood that misinformation may spike on its social networks in the hours and days following the vote.

The company has been conducting security prevention exercises to plan for different election-night scenarios, including those in which election results aren’t definitive as a result of more mail-in ballots, said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, on a call with journalists on Thursday.