Ahead of the General Elections in 2019, Facebook will increase transparency in political ads, the social media giant said in a statement on Thursday.

Sarah Clark Schiff, Product Manager at Facebook, said in a blog post, “It’s important that people know more about the ads they see — especially those that reference political figures, political parties, elections, and legislation.”

“That’s why we’re making big changes to the way we manage these ads on Facebook and Instagram. We’ve rolled out these changes in the US, Brazil, and the UK, and next, we’re taking our first steps towards bringing transparency to ads related to politics in India,” she added.

The initiative requires the person who wants to put a political ad on the social media platform will have to first confirm their identity and location, and give more details about who placed the ad.

The identity and location confirmation will take a few weeks so advertisers can start that process today by using their mobile phones or computer to submit proof of identity and location.

“This will help avoid delays when they run political ads next year,” the blog said.

The platform will also start showing disclaimer to all political ads that provides more information about who’s placing the ad, and an online searchable Ad Library for anyone to access.

The library is a repository of all ads related to politics from a particular advertiser as well as information like the budget associated with an individual ad, a range of impressions, as well as the demographics of who saw the ad.

“By authorising advertisers and bringing more transparency to ads, we can better defend against foreign interference in India’s elections,” the blog post said.

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