Sri Lankans sound alarm over Facebook fake news ahead of election

Facebook's decision to allow politicians to promote content already rated false by factcheckers has been widely condemned

Sri Lankan civil society groups are sounding alarms about Facebook's policies in advance of the country's 16 November presidential election, with warnings that the company's controversial decision to allow politicians to advertise misinformation is "inappropriate and incendiary to boot".

Sanjana Hattotuwa, a senior researcher for the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), on 7 November published a letter he had sent to Facebook on 30 September seeking additional support for civil society groups monitoring the election because he said he had received no response.