Facebook is not ready for the 2022 election wave

THE world is not ready for the coming electoral tsunami. Neither is Facebook. With so many elections on the horizon - France, Kenya, Australia, Brazil, the Philippines and the United States will hold elections this year - the conversation now should focus on how Facebook is preparing.

I know what it's like to prepare for an election at Facebook. I worked there for 10 years, and from 2014 through the end of 2019, I led the company's work across elections globally. It has poured more than US$13 billion into building up its safety and security efforts in the United States since the 2016 elections, when the platform was too slow to recognise how its products could be weaponised to spread misinformation.

Responsible election plans cannot be spun up in days or weeks. It takes time not only to organise internally but also to make meaningful and necessary connections with the communities around the world working to secure elections. Facebook must begin serious, concerted, well-funded efforts today.