Down The Middle News: Stephen King quits Facebook over ‘false information’ in political ads

Stephen King is signing off of Facebook for good.

The best-selling horror author announced on Twitter Friday that he is walking away from the social media platform months ahead of the 2020 presidential election, over concerns about fake news and privacy.

“I’m quitting Facebook,” King, 72,

wrote to his 5.6 million Twitter followers. “Not snug with the flood of false info that is allowed in its political promoting, nor am I assured in its skill to guard its customers’ privateness. Observe me (and Molly, aka The Factor of Evil) on Twitter, for those who like.”

His official Fb account has since been deleted.

Extra: Cynthia Erivo talks variety after Stephen King’s controversial Oscars take

Fb introduced in January that it might proceed to permit on-line political commercials, regardless of strikes by tech corporations together with Google and Twitter to dam or restrict the unfold of advertisements that might probably include misinformation.

“Finally, we don’t assume selections about political advertisements must be made by non-public corporations, which is why we’re arguing for regulation that may apply throughout the trade,” mentioned Rob Leathern, Fb’s director of product administration.

Extra: Facebook will still allow political ads but give users options on what they see

Stephen King is quitting Facebook over "the flood of false information that's allowed in its political advertising" and privacy concerns.

King, a regular critic of President Donald Trump, is the latest celebrity to ditch Facebook over its influence on politics.

In 2018, Cher

announced on Twitter that she was “eliminating Fb” for “conspiring with Russia to destroy our Democracy.”

Final month, “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill additionally mentioned goodbye to the social media website.

“So disillusioned that #MarkZuckerberg values revenue greater than truthfulness that I’ve determined to delete my @Fb account,” Hamill tweeted on Jan. 12. “I do know this can be a large ‘Who Cares?’ for the world at massive, however I will sleep higher at evening. #PatriotismOverProfits.”

Contributing: Brett Molina

Associated: Cher ditches Fb, Google for ‘conspiring with Russia to destroy our democracy’