The horror novelist, has quit Facebook, saying that he is not comfortable with the “flood of false information allowed in its political advertising”.
“I’m quitting Facebook,” the author said on Twitter Friday. “Not comfortable with the flood of false information that’s allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users’ privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like.”
I'm quitting Facebook. Not comfortable with the flood of false information that's allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users' privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 1, 2020
CNN reports, King made the announcement to his 5.6m followers. His Facebook page has since been deleted.
King, who lives in Maine has written more than 50 books, and sold more than 350 million copies and is best known for his works in the horror and fantasy genres, many of which have been adapted into films and television programs.
However, the 72-year-old is politically active and very outspoken, especially regarding his views on US President Donald Trump, and has deemed Trump as a racist in the past.
King has previously used Facebook and Twitter as a way to air his political opinions, most recently using it to announce his support for Elizabeth Warren. “I’ll support and work for any Democrat who wins the nomination, but I’m pulling for Elizabeth Warren,” he wrote. “I’d love to see her open a large can of whup-ass on Trump in the debates.”
Facebook has come under increasing pressure and scrutiny for allowing politicians to run false ads.
Facebook reaffirmed on January 9 that it would not ban or fact-check political advertising, limit how they target specific groups of people, or introduce any fail-safe measures to avoid lies presented in those ads from politicians from propagating across the Internet.
However, Twitter announced in October it would ban all political advertising from its service.
“While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted on Oct. 30.