Facebook has blocked 2.2 million ads for breaking its rules on elections ahead of the November vote

• Facebook said it had taken down 120,000 posts for violating its "voter interference policies" ahead of the US election.
• The posts were taken down across Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns.
• Facebook has also rejected 2.2 million ads because the organizations behind them had not yet been approved to run political ads, it said.
• The news comes as pressure grows on Facebook to tackle misinformation in the runup to Election Day.

Facebook said Monday it had so far taken down 120,000 posts for violating its "voter interference policies" ahead of the US election.

It had also rejected 2.2 million ads because the organizations behind them had not yet been authorized to run electoral or political ads, a spokesperson told Business Insider. This violates the platform's rules on ads about social issues, elections, or politics, they said.

Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche on Saturday that Facebook had partnered with 70 specialized media outlets, including five in France, to verify information. Facebook's AI moderators had "made it possible to delete billions of posts and fake accounts, even before they are reported by users," he said, in comments first reported by Agence France Presse.

The news comes amid growing pressure on Facebook to tackle misinformation ahead of the election.

New research published October 12 suggested misinformation on Facebook was three times as popular as it was during the 2016 election, when fake accounts linked to Russia purchased thousands of ads to try to manipulate voters.

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Facebook announced October 7 that it would ban all political ads that wrongly claim victory after the polls close on November 3.

It will also ban new political ads a week before the election, and ban all political ads indefinitely after polls close. Correction: The original version of this story stated that Facebook had banned 2.2 million adverts for trying to obstruct voting, per an Agence France Presse article. That article was incorrect, and this story has been amended to reflect that.