Stephen King is quitting Facebook – citing false information in political advertisements and questionable privacy rights. He suggested followers join him – and his dog – on Twitter.

Stephen King

Stephen King Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file

“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,” King tweeted at 9 p.m. Friday.

By 5 p.m. Saturday the post had 217,000 likes and was retweeted 21,000 times. The best-selling author and Maine resident has 5.6 million Twitter followers.

Facebook reaffirmed on Jan. 9 that it would not ban or fact-check political ads – or limit how they target specific groups of people. The social media giant did say it would give users control over how many political ads they see.

By contrast, Twitter announced in October it would ban all political advertising from its service – saying it gave advertisers an unfair advantage in spreading misleading information.

“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.

Calls and emails to Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Saturday were not returned.

 


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