"We believe advertising should be safe and civil and not seek to divide or discriminate based on what pages people choose to follow or the interests they may have," the company said. "We’re undertaking a review of targeting options on our platform and recently removed more than 5000 options to help prevent misuse. We’re undertaking a review of targeting options on our platform and recently removed more than 5000 options to help prevent misuse. Facebook statement "While some of these options were used in legitimate ways to reach people interested in a certain product or service, we think minimising the potential risk of misuse is more important. "We're also doing more to help advertisers understand their obligations under our policies and encourage them to report any inappropriate targeting fields directly in the ads interface."

Facebook has been criticised for the role it has played in the political process around the world, with its ad targeting tools used by politically motivated groups to spread misinformation and sow unrest in countries such as the US, France and Myanmar. "It is part of the broader problem that we are facing, the manipulation of information through these new platforms and technologies" said Nick Enfield, a professor in linguistics and the head of the University of Sydney’s Post-Truth Initiative. Demonstrators set a fire on the Place de la Republique after a yellow vest protest Credit:AP Photo/Francois Mori “The way these technologies are allowing those who would seek to exploit people to do so is definitely concerning.” Facebook's targeting tools were used by Russian troll groups to organise two competing protests at a mosque in Texas in 2016, according to a US senate committee.

Loading In the past 12 months, Facebook has increased its team working on safety and security to 30,000 people and has particularly targeted misinformation and fake profiles. It is highly unlikely that any major brands have attempted to target Facebook users based on an apparent interest in extreme ideologies or fringe conspiracies. “I’d be surprised if my members were targeting people based on those terms,” Australian Association of National Advertisers chief executive John Broome said. “I categorically have not [heard of anyone doing it].”

However, Facebook's technology allows anyone who sets up a page on the platform to promote posts or buy ads that can be shown to highly specific audiences, based on factors such as age, gender and location, as well as "interests" and "behaviours". The social media platform's technology deciphers "interests" based on pages users have liked and content they have engaged with. Facebook advertising is not subject to 'blackouts' during elections, unlike commercial TV and radio As of last week, tens of thousands of Facebook users in Australia could be targeted and possibly served ads based on a perceived interest in "fascism", "opposition to immigration", and other inflammatory terms. Dr David Glance, the director of the University of Western Australia's Centre for Software Practice, said Facebook's targeting was inherent to its business model, but its tools had been used by extremist groups to stir civil unrest online in many parts of the world.

"Extreme groups, or people with extreme interests, have been targeted on Facebook in other countries to create social unrest. And targeting on Facebook is clearly helping to amplify conspiracies" he said. "We are seeing this in France lately with the 'Yellow Jacket" movement. France is an absolute basket case at the moment, and the point of these groups is to target people they think will support them, with disinformation" Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video In Australia, Facebook advertising is not subject to 'blackouts' during elections, unlike commercial TV and radio. Last year, the Herald revealed that the Liberal Party had declined to use powerful targeting tools offered by Facebook to political parties during the last Federal election, due to fears at the time they had breached electoral laws.