An Elon Musk-backed political group is posting fake Kamala Harris ads on Facebook

An Elon Musk-backed political group is posting fake Kamala Harris ads on Facebook toggle caption Progress 2028 via Meta's Ad Library/Screenshot by NPR Did you see those Kamala Harris ads on Facebook? Social media greatly expanded the capacity of well-financed, skilled ad buyers to micro-target susceptible undecided voters without risking a backlash from those likely to recognize the deception.” Robert Weissman, co-president of the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen, said that in this case, the disclosure at the bottom of the ad stating the “It truthfully discloses who is paying for the ad, but that entity sounds like a Harris supporting organization, when it is not,” said Weissman, who has called on Meta to remove the ads. Sponsor Message Daniels said deceptive political ads have been deployed “across the media landscape for decades,” adding that Meta’s Ad Library, where the reach of ads can be viewed, “brings a level of transparency to political advertising that far exceeds that of any other platform where these ads have run.” As it did in 2020, Meta will not allow new political After Nov. 5, political ads on Facebook and Instagram can resume, which is a change from 2020, when such advertising was banned post-election. “Yes, there is a First Amendment right to lie, but that does not constrain Meta’s management of Open Secrets found that Progress 2028 also sent text messages to potential voters making false claims about Harris’ policy positions with a link to the Progress 2028 web page, which gives the impression it is a group backing Harris for president, when the opposite is true.