Facebook to seek verification by post for election ads

Facebook plans to send postcards in the US mail in order to verify the location of people requesting to buy adverts related to US election candidates.

Katie Harbath, a director at Facebook, said at a conference that a postcard would be sent to the advertiser's address with a code, which they would need to share to complete the booking.

Facebook is part of the US investigation into election meddling.

Thirteen Russians have been charged with interfering in the 2016 election.

The FBI indictment states that they posed as Americans and spent thousands of dollars each month buying political advertising, as well as setting up groups on social media sites including Facebook and Instagram.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the charges as "blather".

Ms Harbath later told Reuters that the move "won't solve everything" and did not say when the postcard verification process might begin.

The firm has been contacted by the BBC for comment.

In September 2017 Facebook revealed that it had discovered a Russian-funded campaign designed to promote divisive social and political messages on its network.

It shared the evidence with US Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into claims that Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election.