(Reuters) – The head of Facebook Inc.’s advertising integrity, who managed the company’s advertising products around sensitive topics such as coronavirus policy and misinformation, left this week, according to an internal company post viewed by Reuters on Friday.
Rob Leathern, director of product management, said earlier this month on Facebook’s internal network that he will leave the company on December 30. His release had not been reported before.
Facebook could not be reached immediately for comment.
Leathern said in the post that “he is leaving Facebook to work on consumer privacy beyond just ads and social media,” without revealing where he is going.
Leathern was often the public face of the company’s controversial political advertising policies. Before the US election on November 3, Facebook was heavily criticized for allowing deceptive spreads and conspiracy theories to spread on its platforms.
In November, Leathern wrote on Twitter that Facebook did not have “the short-term technical capacity to allow political advertising by the state or the advertiser.” Facebook later lifted a temporary post-election ban on political announcements in Georgia before the January 5 leak, which will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
Reporting by Katie Paul; written by Ben Klayman; Montage by Sandra Maler