5/25/22, 2:13 PM As elections near, Facebook works to regain public trust | The Myanmar Times Rafael Frankel, Facebook’s director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, Emerging Countries: “Myanmar is trying to enter the digital age, so it is very important to create a safe and meaningful online experience.” Photo - Soha.vn As elections near, Facebook works to regain public trust Myanmar will hold general elections this year, and social media is expected to play a big part in disseminating news and information on their process and progress. More than 21 million of Myanmar’s 50 million people are Facebook users. But Facebook hasn’t had a good record when it comes to news on elections. US special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s report into suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election found that Russian agents had used Facebook to spread divisive messages, including false news reports, to help elect Donald Trump and harm his opponent Hillary Clinton. Facebook was plunged into crisis nearly two years ago by revelations that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica had used data harvested from millions of unsuspecting users to target US election ads. Facebook’s public affairs chief Nick Clegg said at a technology conference in Munich on Monday that it will do a better job than it did four years ago of preventing bad actors from using its platform to manipulate this year’s US presidential election. The world’s largest social media network had taken effective action to reduce the spread of fake news, Clegg said, and most extremist political content was now being detected before it comes to public notice. “We are getting better and better at protecting elections from foreign interference,” he told the conference. In a recent interview, Rafael Frankel, Facebook’s director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, Emerging Countries, spoke about what the company is doing to ensure the fairness of the 2020 elections, as well as dos and don’ts for online users in Myanmar. What is Facebook’s stance in Myanmar? Facebook is a global company that is trying to make people in the world more connected. However, every country has its own culture, history and challenges. Myanmar is among the countries for which Facebook made many investments in manpower, allied organisations and technology last year. We employed more local people who have good language skills, regional knowledge, and can investigate the difficulties that need to be solved in Myanmar. As a result, we got some improvement in Myanmar in 2019. Facebook is important in the daily lives of Myanmar people. They use our platform in many ways to share their ideas and publicise their businesses. Do Facebook’s community standards vary with the country? https://www.mmtimes.com/news/elections-near-facebook-works-regain-public-trust.html 2/5