Facebook introduces new rules on advertising and hate speech as a response to criticism

**Facebook** said on Wednesday it would introduce tougher rules on who can make money from advertising on its network, responding to criticism that it makes it too easy for providers of fake news and sensational headlines to cash in.

[caption id=“attachment_4040417” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative Image. Reuters[/caption]

With immediate effect, the world’s largest social network will launch new standards to provide clearer guidance on which publishers are eligible to earn money on Facebook and with what content, Senior Vice President for Global Marketing Solutions **Carolyn Everson** said in a blog post.

According to the new guidelines, some kinds of content are not eligible for monetisation. This includes debated or incendiary social issues, real world tragedies and conflicts, violent content, pornographic content, illegal activities, drug and alcohol use and inappropriate language.

These standards would apply to ad placements where context could matter, Everson wrote in the post, timed to coincide with an appearance on Wednesday by Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer **Sheryl Sandberg** at dmexco, a major digital marketing gathering in Cologne, Germany.

Germany is one of Facebook’s toughest critics on hate speech and privacy. Its parliament passed a law in June to fine social media networks up to 50 million euros ($60 million) if they fail to remove hateful postings promptly.

This report comes hours after Facebook Inc. on 13 September said that some of the ads bought by Russians on Facebook last year promoted events during the US presidential campaign, indicating that alleged meddling ahead of the 2016 election went beyond social media.

Facebook said in a statement that its takedown of what the company last week called Russian-affiliated pages included shutting down “several promoted events.”

With inputs from Reuters