Facebook has announced plans of a new system for disclosing groups and companies paying for ads on their platform.

The death of “Dark Posts”

Ads meant to target specific types of people, while remaining invisible to others, are being brought into the light for anyone to view thanks to Facebook’s new transparency tools.

The move is a reaction to Facebook’s misuse at the hands of Russian provocateurs targeting paid ads from erroneous Pages during the 2016 US Presidential Election.

A new “View Ads” icon will appear on every Page, and will show exactly what messages that Page's sponsors have paid for.

It also means brands will be able to see what the competition is doing like never before.

Origins no longer unknown

For as long as a test ad is being run it will be attached to the Page of origin, making it much harder for groups to masquerade as legitimate sources.

Last year, many groups ran active Facebook and Twitter accounts, 470 of which had suspected ties to Russian operators buying at least $100,000 in advertising.

Much like the rash of “fake news” in years past, social media is revamping their approach in order to better educate users in differentiating between ads and coercion.

Hopefully, “dark posts” won’t be able to trump future elections.

Have you been fooled by targeted posts in the past? Do you think digital marketing has the capacity to self-regulate? Let us know in our comment section below.