Instagram uses ads to help users register to vote for the US mid-terms elections

tech2 News StaffSep 19, 2018 15:05:26 IST

Mid-term elections in the US are just 49 days away, and Instagram has chosen to participate in encouraging citizens to vote. On 18 September, Instagram launched a new campaign showing ads which appeared on users’ feed and also Stories, leading to a link which had information on registrations for voting.

The social media platform is doing this in a partnership with TurboVote, which is a startup that aims to revolutionise voter registration and vote by mail via the Internet and snail mail.

Helping the community register to vote. image: Instagram

The ads will lead users to links that will give information about topics such as — how to access your state's voting rules, how to update your registration and how to register.

Additionally, on 6 November, which is the election day, users will be able to share their voting stories by adding an ‘I Voted” sticker. The sticker has been there during that previous elections as well, but this time Instagram is making the experience more interactive. The sticker will act as a link to ‘Get to the polls’ to help other users find polling locations on the day of the mid-term elections.

While Instagram is doing its bit towards civic engagement, the US is still worried about its parent company Facebook and the protection of the elections from foreign interference.

Facebook's ex-chief of security Alex Stamos thinks that the country has already failed to protect the 2018 elections and is not prepared for it, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg is convinced that the company is "better prepared."

In a rather lengthy post, Zuckerberg outlined the main efforts that Facebook was focused on preventing election interference, misinformation and fake news