Stephen King deletes Facebook account over ‘flood of false information’

Author Stephen King announced over the weekend that he was quitting Facebook over the social media platform’s privacy issues and failure to forbid misinformation in political advertising.

“I’m quitting Facebook. Not comfortable with the flood of false information that’s allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users’ privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like,” King tweeted Friday, referencing his corgi.

I’m quitting Facebook. Not comfortable with the flood of false information that’s allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users’ privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 1, 2020

Critics of the social media giant have castigated it for its policy of not fact-checking political ads. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign was among those voicing criticism, blasting Facebook last October for allowing a spot from President Trump’s reelection campaign that falsely claimed Biden “promised Ukraine a billion dollars if they fired the prosecutor investigating his son’s company.”

During a round of questioning from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in October, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was unable to answer whether, for example, she would be permitted to run ads targeting Republicans in primaries by claiming they voted for her Green New Deal policy proposals.

“If you’re not fact-checking political advertisements … I’m just trying to understand the bounds of what is fair game,” Ocasio-Cortez asked during the House Financial Services Committee hearing.

“Congresswoman, I don’t know the answer to that off the top of my head,” Zuckerberg responded.

Other major social media platforms, including Twitter, have banned political advertising, citing the potential to spread misinformation.