Facebook on Wednesday will start allowing ads targeting Georgia voters ahead of Jan. 5 runoff elections — even though its broader political ad ban remains in place, Axios reported.
The move would come in the wake of Google's full lift of a political ad ban that took effect after polls closed Nov. 3.
Before the big tech companies' announcements, hundreds of millions of ad dollars being spent on the Georgia election runoff races were mostly directed at local broadcast ads, Axios reported.
Facebook did not say why it decided to allow ads to target voters in Georgia now, Axios reported — noting, however, Facebook's tools for managing political campaigns are considered crucial.
For campaigns and political groups, digital ads are easier to buy and can be targeted to a much more narrow set of people than broadcast ads, making them more cost-effective, Axios reported. They also are easier to to solicit funding and track ad engagement.
According to Axios, Facebook will prioritize onboarding advertisers "with direct involvement" in the Georgia runoff elections, such as the campaigns themselves, state and local elections officials, and state and national political parties.
Other advertisers, like political PACs, will also be able to do so following new Facebook guidelines, Axios reported. Ads that target places outside of Georgia, or that are not about the runoffs, will be rejected, the news outlet reported.
Ads that include content debunked by third-party, fact-checkers or that aim to delegitimize the Georgia runoffs are also banned, according to Axios.
Axios reported Facebook is deploying teams and technology it used in the general election to fight voter suppression, misinformation and interference in the Georgia elections.
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