Unfriended? Divisive Presidential Campaign Roils Facebook

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Some friends don't let friends talk politics anymore on Facebook. Others are on "unfriending" sprees or have just shut down their accounts to get a break from the heated political debates.

The giant social network has emerged as a virtual town hall for politics, a popular place to share opinions -- and vitriolic attacks -- about the two polarizing presidential candidates.

Facebook says that from Jan. 1 through Aug. 1, 100 million people in the United States generated 4 billion posts, comments, shares and reactions about the election. More than 1 billion of those came in July, the month of the national conventions.

American University's Scott Talan suggests using civilized tones, posting questions instead of strong statements, taking a breath before commenting, and generally, don't be "like the candidates."

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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