Facebook says it helped 4.4M people register to vote

Facebook on Monday said it has helped an estimated 4.4 million people register to vote across its platforms since launching a voter information initiative over the summer.

Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in June announced the company would launch a voting information center, with the aim of helping 4 million people to register to vote.

“Today, we hit our goal,” Zuckerberg said in the post published about a week before Election Day.

“We estimate we’ve helped 4.4 million people register across our apps — based on conversion rates we calculated from states we’ve partnered with,” Zuckerberg added.

Facebook has been displaying “reliable election information” at the top of its apps for all users of voting age in the U.S., including key deadlines and information on how to vote by mail, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook’s voting information center included a link for users to register to vote or check their voter registration status.

The social media giant’s push to include voting information ahead of this year’s elections follows intense scrutiny the company faced over the spread of disinformation on its platform during the last presidential election.