
<p><strong>Although Donald Trump-led arguably the most Africa-adverse American administration in history, analysts warn not to expect too much from his successor, Democrat Joe Biden. A look at the likely impact of his win on the US-Africa economic dynamics.</strong></p>



<p class="has-drop-cap"><span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">H</span>ISTORICALLY, IT HAS NOT MATTERED MUCH for Africa whether Democrats or Republicans sit in the White House. This is largely because the United States (US) has never really had a coherent and constructive Africa policy. So, although outgoing Republican president Donald Trump led arguably the most Africa-adverse American administration in history, analysts warn not to expect too much from his successor, Democrat Joe Biden.</p>



<p>Biden was vice-president in the Obama administration that preceded Trump. But whereas Trump once called African countries “shitholes”, Biden at least is promising to “reengage with the world”.</p>



<p>“He will be more engaging with countries, including Africa,” believes Jannie Rossouw, interim head of Wits Business School in Johannesburg. “Trump really isolated the US from many regions, from very many continents, it was bad relationship all over the place.”</p>



<p>Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, agrees.</p>



<p>“I think Biden is going to focus on rebuilding partnerships and that includes at the multilateral level to the state level, to the subnational level,” he says.</p>



<p>“So I think you will first see a refocus on climate change and strengthening international adoptions, which will be of benefit to Africans. It’s clear that Biden is very supportive of the Continental Free Trade Agreement. That is incredibly important. But he has also talked about the importance of subnational governance and particularly urbanization. And so I think we have the potential to see the next administration work with African countries at these multiple levels to unlock their economies.”</p>



<p>Devermont expects the biggest African economies – Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya in particular – to receive significant attention, while the prospects for Ethiopia also look promising.</p>



<p>But Biden has his work cut out for him. Domestic challenges like tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, an economic recession and reckoning with racism are likely to keep him busy during his first few months in office. When his attention finally shifts to international affairs, climate change and trade wars with China can expect to dominate the agenda.</p>



<p>But instead of disparaging Beijing at every turn, like Trump did, Devermont expects there will be a focus on “transparency around norms, around standards, ensuring that African economies are open to US investors. And the more negative elements of a Chinese engagement will be blunted or curbed through shared partnerships with Africans around how foreign countries should invest in their countries, how to form partnerships in their countries.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Another expectation is that American legislation allowing sub-Saharan African countries preferential entry into the US market will be extended.</p>



<p>Rossouw believes that “Biden will try to find a call partner in countries in Africa, and that might be beneficial, especially for the bigger economies in Africa, such as South Africa. If Johannesburg was an independent country, it would be the ninth largest economy in Africa. So naturally, the interest will first be in the big economies and then there will be spillover effects to the smaller economies.”</p>



<p>Biden has in the past committed Washington to helping the continent manage the challenges of a burgeoning population. The United Nations’ projection that Africa will be home to a quarter of the world’s population by 2050 led him to suggest an urbanization initiative. This would include partnerships between African and American cities planning for growth in critical sectors like energy access, climate change, transportation and water management.</p>



<p>“Urbanization is the key transformation that the continent will undergo in this century and ensuring that African cities, most of whom sit on the coasts, are open for business will be a huge opportunity for US companies,&#8221; says Devermont. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t underestimate how important that initiative, depending on what it develops into, can be for the US-Africa economic relationship.&#8221;</p>



<p>Equally important is that the Biden administration reach out to companies that remain skeptical or ignorant about opportunities in Africa and address some of the risks and myths they have about investing on the continent.</p>



<p>Trump’s mission was to make America great but his administration largely disengaged with one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. Time will tell whether his successor fares any better. </p>



<p><em>-By PAULA SLIER AND ALLISON GOSNEY</em></p>


US dollar on the Africa map background

Will The United States Re-Engage With Africa?


<p>Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is projected to be the next president of the United States based on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1325112441928359939?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">election analysis</a>&nbsp;by the Associated Press, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump in what proved to be one of the most brutal campaigns in modern history, throughout which Biden vowed to heal the nation’s deep divisions and respond forcefully and responsibly to Covid-19 pandemic.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>KEY FACTS</sub></h4>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;The Associated Press called the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania for Biden on Saturday after late-counted absentee ballots gave him a come-from-behind victory, also calling Nevada for him shortly after.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Biden’s path to 270 electoral votes was paved through Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, which Trump won after decades of Democratic dominance, leaving some Democrats to question whether their path to the presidency in future elections would still run through the Midwest.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;But if Biden proved Democrats could win traditional Democratic states, he also blazed the beginnings of a new trail for Democrats by putting Arizona in the blue column for the first time since 1996, and he’s on track to be the first Democrat to win Georgia since 1992.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;The result caps off an election defined by its ugliness, with Trump launching attacks on Biden’s physical and<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/26/trumps-latest-trolling-of-bidens-mental-state-calling-for-drug-tests-before-debates/">&nbsp;mental health</a>,<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-trump/trump-calls-biden-stupid-demands-apology-for-challenging-him-on-vaccines-idUSKBN25Z0E6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;intelligence</a>,<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/28/destroyer-of-american-greatness-trump-savages-biden-as-he-accepts-gop-nomination/">&nbsp;record</a>&nbsp;and even his<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/10/16/lock-up-the-bidens-trump-picks-target-for-final-stretch--his-opponents-family/">&nbsp;family</a>&nbsp;while calling for him to be<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/09/25/trump-urged-ukraine-to-investigate-joe-biden-in-phone-call-transcript/">&nbsp;investigated</a>, prosecuted and<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/17/trump-calls-the-bidens-an-organized-crime-family-but-here-are-his-run-ins-with-the-law/">&nbsp;imprisoned</a>&nbsp;by the federal government.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Biden for his part rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment by excoriating Trump’s record as president, most notably by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/10/23/biden-hits-trump-on-covid-if-this-is-a-success-what-does-a-failure-look-like/">seizing on</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_casesinlast7days" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">232,000 U.S. deaths</a>&nbsp;from coronavirus and alleging Trump had failed to adequately respond to the pandemic.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;But even as he clashed with Trump, Biden pledges to voters that in the aftermath of the campaign he would seek to heal partisan wounds and govern not as a Democrat, but as “a president for all Americans,” even those who disagreed with him.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>KEY BACKGROUND</sub></h4>



<p>Born in Pennsylvania in 1942 and raised in Delaware, Biden attended the University of Delaware and Syracuse University Law School, briefly practicing law before entering local Delaware politics as a New Castle County Councilman. Biden was elected to the U.S. senate from Delaware in 1972, defeating a three-term Republican incumbent at age 29 to become the youngest senator in the country – so obscure on the national stage that NBC News anchor Garrick Utley mistakenly called him “<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1320076660893536260?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Biden</a>.” Biden served for 36 years in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/member/joseph-biden/B000444" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Senate</a>, including stints as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees, and ran for president in 1988 and 2008 before serving as President Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017. In addition to his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, Biden has two children, Hunter and Ashley, and seven grandchildren.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>TANGENT</sub></h4>



<p>Biden won<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/03/biden-racks-up-more-republican-support-in-final-days--the-complete-list-of-his-gop-backers/">&nbsp;endorsements from hundreds of prominent Republicans</a>&nbsp;and former GOP officials, such as former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the family of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, GOP mega-donor Meg Whitman and former GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina. Even a handful of Trump officials endorsed Biden, including former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/10/29/trump-warns-bad-things-will-happen-to-treasonous-ex-official-miles-taylor/">&nbsp;Miles Taylor</a>.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>CRUCIAL QUOTE</sub></h4>



<p>“It&#8217;s been a long and difficult campaign, but it’s been a more difficult time for our country, Biden said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1324165787515461634?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">speech</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, before the race was called for him, calling to “put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us” and “respect and care for one another, to unite, to heal, to come together,” a common theme of his campaign. “I know this won’t be easy. I’m not naive. Neither of us are. I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things. But I also know this as well. To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies. What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart.”</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub><strong>CHIEF CRITIC</strong></sub></h4>



<p>“I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/07/trump-falsely-claims-he-won-by-a-lot-after-telling-biden-not-to-wrongfully-declare-victory/">tweeted</a>&nbsp;an hour before the election was called for Biden. Shortly afterwards, his campaign put out a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1325118083082702850?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;claiming &#8220;the simple fact is this election is far from over&#8221; and vowing legal action.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>SURPRISING FACT</sub></h4>



<p>Trump is the first president to lose reelection since 1992, when Republican President George H.W. Bush lost to Democrat Bill Clinton. At 77 years old, Biden will be the oldest president in American history. Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), will be the first woman, the first Black American and the first Asian American to serve as vice president.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>BIG NUMBER</sub></h4>



<p>306. That’s the number of electoral votes Biden is on track to win if he maintains his lead in Nevada and Georgia. Trump won the same exact number of electoral votes in 2016, which he described as a “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/06/biden-on-track-for-what-trump-once-called-massive-landslide-electoral-college-victory/">massive landslide victory</a>.”</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</sub></h4>



<p>An uncalled Senate race in North Carolina and two runoffs in Georgia set for Jan. 5 will determine whether Biden comes into office with a Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress. Given the sheer scale of his&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/" target="_blank">proposals</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;including a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">$2 trillion climate plan</a>, a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/healthcare/" target="_blank">public health care option</a>&nbsp;and a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/the-biden-emergency-action-plan-to-save-the-economy/" target="_blank">second coronavirus stimulus package</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;Democratic control of Congress would be critical for Biden to enact some of his key priorities and to get his desired cabinet secretaries and appointees confirmed, as well as to fill judicial vacancies.</p>



<p><em>-By Andrew Solender,Forbes Staff</em></p>


Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden Addresses The Nation As Election Count Continues In Few Key States

Joe Biden Wins Presidency After Recapturing Rust Belt States


<p>As vice president-elect, Kamala Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2020/11/07/kamala-harris-makes-history-what-the-first-female-vice-president-elect-means-for-women/?sh=54e951f26455">makes history</a>&nbsp;in a number of ways: She is the first woman and Asian-American to be part of a winning presidential ticket, and will be the first Black American to become vice president.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>KEY FACTS</sub></h3>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Biden and Harris secured the presidency on Saturday after an arduous four-day ballot-counting marathon against Republican incumbent Donald Trump.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;This makes Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, both of whom were civil rights activists, the first Black American, Asian American and woman of color to serve as the country’s second-in-command.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Harris’ victory follows three unsuccessful campaigns from female nominees for the nation’s highest office: Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, Sarah Palin for vice president in 2008 and Geraldine Ferraro for vice president in 1984.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Harris will also be the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/12/here-are-the-firsts-kamala-harris-represents-with-vp-candidacy/?sh=6dc140b83128">first</a>&nbsp;graduate of a historically Black college or university—Howard University in Washington D.C.—to assume the position, making her and Biden the first leadership team without an ivy league degree.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Harris served as California’s junior senator for four years, during which time she’s sat on the high-profile judiciary and intelligence committees.</p>



<p><strong>•</strong>&nbsp;Before she was elected to the senate in 2016, Harris, a career prosecutor, served as San Francisco’s attorney general from 2004 to 2011, and then moved on to become California’s attorney general for six years starting in 2011.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>CRUCIAL QUOTE</sub></h3>



<p>“That I am here tonight is a testament to the dedication of generations before me,” said Harris when accepting the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. “They organized, marched, and fought—not just for their vote, but for a seat at the table.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><sub>KEY BACKGROUND</sub></h2>



<p>Biden’s selection of Harris as his running mate earlier this year drew broad praise, though some on the right criticized her for being too liberal, while some on the left criticized her as being not liberal enough. In particular, Harris’s record as a prosecutor became a source of intense public scrutiny during her own run for president this year, with critics accusing it of contradicting her role as a leading voice against police misconduct. During her first term as California’s attorney general, Harris was <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/09/us/politics/kamala-harris-policing.html" target="_blank">largely adverse</a> to prosecuting police killings, but shifted course slightly in her second term—expanding her office’s involvement in reviewing police misconduct and pushing for modest reform. Over the summer, Harris led calls and sponsored legislation for sweeping changes in policing following the deaths of numerous Black men and women in police custody.</p>



<p><em>-By Jemima McEvoy, Forbes Staff</em></p>


Kamala Harris Campaigns In Pennsylvania On Eve Of Election Day

Kamala Harris Makes History As First Female, Black, Asian American Vice President


<p>After Joe Biden expressed optimism about his prospects of winning the election during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, President Trump fired off a tweet in which he falsely claimed votes were being “cast after the polls closed” and accused the Democratic nominee of trying to “steal” the election—a baseless accusation that the president has floated for weeks—and Twitter flagged the tweet for spreading misinformation about the election.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



<p>“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” Trump wrote in a tweet without proof, adding “Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1323864823680126977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1323864823680126977%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fembedly.forbes.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3Dcfc0fb0733504c77aa4a6ac07caaffc7schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Frealdonaldtrump%2Fstatus%2F1323864823680126977image%3D
</div></figure>



<p>Twitter slapped a label on the tweet, saying some of the “content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”</p>



<p>Facebook followed suit, placing a label on Trump’s tweet that did not comment on the content of the president’s message but did remind users that the results are not final.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And now an update. Facebook&#39;s label has now changed. It makes no comment about the content of Trump&#39;s post but suggests that the results are not final. <a href="https://t.co/EWw4guUAL0">pic.twitter.com/EWw4guUAL0</a></p>&mdash; Ryan Mac🙃 (@RMac18) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/1323872220821643265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>For weeks, Trump has laid the groundwork to object to results of the election he doesn’t like, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916221894/trump-says-he-expect-election-results-to-end-up-at-supreme-court" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">refused</a>&nbsp;repeatedly to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.</p>



<p>The president has also repeatedly argued the results of the election must be known on election night, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/01/930140373/fact-check-trump-falsely-claims-that-votes-shouldnt-be-counted-after-election-da" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">falsely claimed</a>&nbsp;&#8220;that&#8217;s the way it&#8217;s been and that&#8217;s the way it should be.&#8221;</p>



<p>Trump put out the tweet after Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/it-aint-over-till-every-vote-is-counted-biden-says-hes-on-track-to-win-rejects-trumps-victory-declaration/">told</a>&nbsp;a crowd in Wilmington, Delaware that he felt confident about the election results, saying, &#8220;We believe we&#8217;re on track to win this election.&#8221;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



<p>There is no evidence votes were cast after the polls closed in any state, as the president baselessly claimed. Many states&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/11/02/when-well-know-what-on-election-day-a-guide-to-poll-closing-times-vote-counting-procedures-and-the-states-to-watch/">accept ballots</a>&nbsp;postmarked on or before Election Day to account for mail delays.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



<p>Biden currently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/electoral-college-2020-trump-takes-florida-biden-wins-minnesota-most-swing-states-too-close-to-call/?sh=2900329f14cd">leads</a>&nbsp;Trump in the electoral college vote 223 to 174, with several key battlegrounds not yet projected, including Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h4>



<p>Historian Michael Beschloss notes we did not know the winner on election night during six presidential elections since 1960.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We did not know Presidential winner for certain before midnight on election nights in 1960, 1968, 1976, 2000, 2004, 2016.  No one should pretend there would be anything historically unusual if that happens again in 2020.</p>&mdash; Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1322993565199380491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/it-aint-over-till-every-vote-is-counted-biden-says-hes-on-track-to-win-rejects-trumps-victory-declaration/?sh=15d523062258">‘It Ain’t Over Till Every Vote Is Counted’: Biden Says He’s ‘On Track’ To Win, Rejects Trump’s Victory Declaration</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/electoral-college-2020-trump-takes-florida-biden-wins-minnesota-most-swing-states-too-close-to-call/?sh=15dcb314cd61">Electoral College 2020: Trump Takes Florida, Biden Wins Minnesota, Most Swing States Too Close To Call </a>(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><em>-By Jack Brewster, Forbes Staff</em></p>


President Donald Trump Holds Election Night Event At The White House

Twitter Flags Trump Tweet Baselessly Accusing Biden Of Trying To ‘Steal The Election’

<p>Hundreds of fake Facebook accounts and Pages that were likely affiliated with one another and operated out of Russia bought $100,000 in political advertisements on the social network over the past two years, Facebook said in a statement. Facebook shared its findings with U.S. authorities investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.</p>
<p>The fake accounts and Pages were allegedly connected to a “shadowy” Russian company seeking to target voters, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/facebook-says-it-sold-political-ads-to-russian-company-during-2016-election/2017/09/06/32f01fd2-931e-11e7-89fa-bb822a46da5b_story.html?utm_term=.d0be98616b7a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a report in The Washington Post </a>on Wednesday. The company, called the Internet Research Agency, is known for using fake accounts to comment on news stories and post on social media. U.S. intelligence agencies said in January that the likely backer of the Internet Research Agency is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Congressional investigators and special counsel Robert Mueller are probing allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. election and possible coordination with members of President Donald Trump&#8217;s campaign. In January, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government, under orders from Putin, hacked Democratic targets in an effort to hamper Hillary Clinton’s election prospects and aid Trump’s.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2017/08/14/even-minor-nuclear-war-ecological-disaster-felt-throughout-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Even a &#8216;minor&#8217; nuclear war would be an ecological disaster felt throughout the world </a></p>
<p>While the ad spending figure is small, Facebook’s findings raise questions about the extent of Russian involvement in the U.S. election and how misinformation on social media may have affected voters. Under federal law, foreign governments and foreign nationals are prohibited from making contributions or spending money to influence a federal, state or local election in the U.S. Facebook briefed the House and Senate intelligence committees about the findings on Wednesday.</p>
<p>These 470 fake accounts and Pages purchased approximately 3,000 ads focused on divisive social and political topics such as LGBT matters, race, immigration and gun rights, Facebook <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/09/information-operations-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a blog post</a> by chief security officer Alex Stamos. The large majority of the ads did not specifically reference the U.S. presidential election, voting or a particular candidate. The ads were purchased between June 2015 to May 2017, and about a quarter of the total ads were geographically targeted. Facebook shut down the inauthentic accounts and Pages that were still active, because fake accounts violate the social network’s policy, the company said.</p>
<p>“There have been a lot of questions since the 2016 US election about Russian interference in the electoral process,” Stamos wrote in the blog post. “One question that has emerged is whether there’s a connection between the Russian efforts and ads purchased on Facebook. These are serious claims and we’ve been reviewing a range of activity on our platform to help understand what happened.”</p>
<p>Facebook said it has also done a broad search for ads that might have originated in Russia, for example, ads purchased from accounts with U.S. IP addresses but with the language set to Russian. In this search, Facebook said it found an additional $50,000 in advertising spending with a potential Russian connection across about 2,200 ads.</p>
<p>Facebook has taken a series of new steps since the U.S. presidential election to crack down on the spread of misinformation on the social network, including launching a third-party fact-checking program and improving artificial intelligence technology that can detect fake accounts. In August, Facebook said it will no longer allow Pages that repeatedly share false news to advertise on Facebook. The company also curbs the spread of stories from sources that consistently post clickbait headlines. In the past few months, Facebook has taken steps to block fake accounts in Germany and France.</p>
<p>Stamos said Facebook is looking into a range of improvements to keep inauthentic accounts and bad actors off of its platform. For example, Facebook is testing ways to use its technology for detecting fake accounts to better detect inauthentic Pages and the ads they could run. The company is also experimenting with tools to stop the creation of inauthentic accounts at the time they are formed. &#8211; <em>Written by <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Kathleen Chaykowski</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF</span></span></em></p>


Tag: US election

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Will The United States Re-Engage With Africa?

Joe Biden Wins Presidency After Recapturing Rust Belt States

Kamala Harris Makes History As First Female, Black, Asian American Vice President

Twitter Flags Trump Tweet Baselessly Accusing Biden Of Trying To ‘Steal The Election’

Facebook Says Fake Accounts Likely Tied To Russia Bought $100,000 In Political Ads