Facebook will reportedly tighten the screws on political advertisers

mark zuckerberg

Facebook is reportedly going to tighten the screws on political advertisers using its platform.

Facebook is going to "require ads that are targeted to people based on "politics, religion, ethnicity or social issues" to be manually reviewed before they go live, according to an email sent to advertisers and obtained by Axios' Sara Fischer and David McCabe.

Most ads that populate the social network are bought and uploaded through an automated system.

The manual review process would be a "higher standard" than what's currently required of the majority of Facebook ads, according to Axios.

Facebook also told advertises that with this new process, advertisers will probably "experience a delay" ahead of the ad campaign's launch.

Facebook has been under public scrutiny over questions about the spread of viral fake news on its site and over questions related to the ongoing investigation into Russian election interference.

The company is expected to testify before two congressional committees on Capitol Hill on November 1 — the same day the company will report third-quarter earnings results.

Facebook's stock is trading at historic highs, suggesting that investors appear to be somewhat unfazed by the scrutiny.

Earlier this week, Business Insider's Alex Heath reported that late last month, Deutsche Bank raised its estimates and price target on Facebook to $220 a share after conducting encouraging check-ins with advertisers.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, recently said in a research note that Facebook's stock was "too cheap for its quality and growth." And Needham called the platform a "must buy" for advertisers.

Check out the full report at Axios here.

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