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Facebook’s Influence On 2M Votes, Still Refuses ‘Media’ Label

Facebook is claiming to have pushed 2 million of its users to register as voters, thus highlighting the social media site’s growing influence on directly impacting election results. The social network also refuses to be called a “Media” company despite all signs pointing to that conclusion.

Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is saying that the social media site will take credit for having 2 million of its users become registered voters for this election cycle, CNET reports. Sandberg made this pronouncement during a conference held by The Wall Street Journal at Laguna Beach. During the event, she also proclaimed that Facebook users are currently split 50/50 in terms of who they will vote for during Election Day.

"We believe in giving people a voice," Sandberg had said. "We really believe that we can help people register to vote and increase political participation. And that will be good for everyone, not just in the US but around the world."

It would seem that Sandberg isn’t just making this up either, as states like California and nine others are actually crediting Facebook for the significant rise in voter registration numbers in their areas. This isn’t particularly surprising when the social network has been nagging its 1.65 users to become more involved in politics.

Even with its clear impact on current events, however, Facebook refuses to accept the label of “Media” company. Both Sandberg and Chief product officer at the social network, Chris Cox are arguing that the company is actually more aligned with technology than it is with media, Fortune reports.

The executives did accept the fact that Facebook does have some impact on public conversations as the world’s biggest social media site. However, they maintain that they simply provide individuals and groups the platform to share their messages and ideas.

“A media company is about the stories that it tells,” Cox said. “A technology company is about the tools that it builds.”

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