Facebook Will Ban New Political Ads in Week Before Election

Facebook Inc (FB.O) said on Thursday it would stop accepting new political ads in the week before the U.S. election day on Nov. 3, in a series of moves the company billed as its final plan for reducing risks of misinformation and election interference.

Facebook, the world’s biggest social network, will continue to allow campaigns and others to run political ads that are already in the system, and will permit them to change spending amounts and user targeting, but will block adjustments to the ads’ content or design.

The company...

Facebook Inc.’s first action to limit political advertising in the U.S. with a ban of news ads in the week preceding the Nov. 3 elections announced Thursday comes amid unrelenting criticism that its platform fuels misinformation and is a haven for far-right groups.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who in particular has taken heat for political manipulation of the social-media company’s platform during the 2016 U.S. elections, made the announcement early Thursday in another attempt to tamp down meddling.

“It’s important that campaigns can run ‘get out the vote campaigns’, and...