Facebook is now letting political candidates pay influencers to post memes.
Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram will now allow U.S. campaigns to sponsor "branded content," meaning they can pay influencers to share supportive posts, including memes. The posts must be marked as sponsored.
A Facebook spokesperson told Politico this previously wasn't allowed but the company had been considering the change for a while after receiving inquiries from campaigns and government agencies.
However, the branded political content won't be treated like regular political ads, since Facebook won't get a cut of the profits. According to Politico, that means the posts could undergo fact-checks.
