CINCINNATI (AP) – 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.”