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U.S. NEWS Friday 22 September 2017
Facebook to release Russia ads, beef up election ‘integrity’

light on possible election in- effectiveness. At the mo- litical ads, similar to rules
terference has prompted ment, there’s no way for on television broadcasters.
the chairman of the Senate anyone but Facebook to In an interview with The As-
intelligence committee to track these political ads, or sociated Press, Warner said
call for the company to tes- for recipients to tell who is he hoped to work with so-
tify in its election-meddling sponsoring such messages. cial-media companies on
probe. Since average users “don’t the bill.
A MORE TRANSPARENT know if you’re seeing the AND YET STILL SECRETIVE
FACEBOOK same messages as every- Zuckerberg suggested that
In one of the first steps one else,” Zuckerberg said, the company may not
Facebook has ever taken Facebook will “make it so provide much information
to open up its secretive you can visit an advertis- publicly, saying that the
advertising system to ob- er’s page and see the ads ongoing federal investiga-
servation, the company will they’re currently running tion will limit what he can
now require political ads to to any audience on Face- reveal.
In this Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuck- disclose both who is paying book.” The leaders of the Sen-
erberg speaks in Barcelona, Spain. On Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, for them and all ad cam- The company will hire 250 ate Intelligence Commit-
Zuckerberg said that Facebook will provide the contents of
3,000 ads bought by a Russian agency to congressional inves- paigns those individuals more people in the next tee have sought to bring
tigators. The move comes as the company has faced growing or groups are running on year to work on “election Facebook executives be-
pressure from members of Congress to release the content of Facebook. integrity,” Zuckerberg said. fore their committee for
the ads. Facebook had already released the ads to federal au- That’s a key step that will The top Democrat on the the past couple of weeks.
thorities investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presi- allow outsiders to see how Senate intelligence panel But critics say Facebook
dential election. many different variants of would go farther. Virginia should go further. They say
(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
a given ad are being tar- Sen. Mark Warner is writing the company should tell its
geted to various groups a bill that would require so- users how they might have
By BARBARA ORTUTAY Zuckerberg said in a Face- of individuals, a tactic de- cial media companies to been influenced by outside
TOM LOBIANCO book video and wrote in signed to improve their disclose who funded po- meddlers.q
The Associated Press an accompanying post .
NEW YORK (AP) — Face- “That’s not what we stand
book is slowly acknowledg- for.”
ing the outsized — if unin- The moves Thursday come
tended — role it played in amid growing pressure on
the 2016 U.S. presidential the social network from
elections. members of Congress,
Bowing to pressure from who pushed Facebook to
lawmakers and the pub- release the ads after the
lic, the company said it will company disclosed their
provide the contents of existence in early Septem-
3,000 ads bought by a Rus- ber. Facebook has already
sian agency to congressio- handed over the ads to the
nal investigators, while also special counsel investigat-
pledging to make political ing Russian interference in
advertising on its platform the 2016 U.S. presidential
more “transparent.” election.
“I don’t want anyone to Facebook’s reluctance to
use our tools to undermine be more forthcoming with
democracy,” CEO Mark information that could shed
Illinois court upholds murder

conviction of Drew Peterson

By JOHN O’CONNOR prevent their testimony.
Associated Press The 63-year-old former
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The police sergeant from the
use of hearsay testimony to Chicago suburb of Boling-
convict former Chicago- brook is serving a 38-year
area police officer Drew sentence in the 2004 death
Peterson in the death of his of ex-wife Kathleen Savio.
third wife was proper, the He’ll follow that with 40
Illinois Supreme Court ruled more years after a convic-
Thursday in upholding the tion last year on allegations
conviction. that he plotted to kill the
The high court, in a unani- prosecutor who put him
mous decision , found that behind bars.
hearsay testimony from Savio’s body was found
Peterson’s dead third wife in a dry bathtub in 2004,
and missing fourth wife did weeks before a scheduled
not violate his constitutional hearing to determine mon-
right to confront his accus- etary and child custody is-
ers because of evidence sues related to her divorce
that Peterson killed them to from Peterson. q