There’s going to be one larger than life presence at the Presidential debates — and we’re not talking about Donald Trump.
For the first time in a presidential general election debate, Facebook will source questions from users, according to a plan released by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Those questions will then be given to the moderators of the October 9 town hall-style debate, who will then choose which ones to ask the candidates.
The goal is “to engage the American public in substantive conversations before, during and after the debates,” CPD wrote in their plan.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the questions would be gathered.
A Facebook representative said the television networks involved in the town hall debate and the moderators could also collect questions from their own Facebook pages or through their network’s pages, according to The Hill.
In the weeks leading up to the debates, Facebook and Google will provide the moderators with information about what people are talking about and searching for when it comes to this election. The first debate will be moderated by NBC News’ Lester Holt on September 26.
Read More: Moderators Chosen, Presidential Debates Set
Facebook is also acting as the “exclusive social media sponsor” for the first and third presidential debates and will help members of the campus community leverage the power of Facebook Live to show what’s happening at the debate site. They’ll also have an interactive screen to show what the conversation is on Facebook regarding the candidates and hot button issues, according to CPD.
Snapchat will also be a key player in the commission’s technology plan. The app will cover each debate on-site in a “live story” format, letting voters see “many different perspectives of students from the debate host universities, volunteers, media and many others.”
“These compilations of Snaps are designed to encourage the conversation long after each debate is over,” CPD said.
