The last sprint before the American mid-term elections, which will take place on November 8. Social media is being scrutinized after platforms struggled to stem the flow of false information related to the 2020 US presidential election.
In a report published on Friday, October 21, US researchers tested the ability of Facebook (Meta), TikTok and YouTube to monitor content containing misinformation. The non-profit organization Global Witness and the Cybersecurity for Democracy team at New York University (NYU) published 20 misleading ads on three platforms about the conduct of the US election. The ads said, for example, that the date of the second round had been moved from October 30 to the 31st, or that the election results could be broken.
90% of content streamed on TikTok
Bad student palm is attributed to TikTok. The Chinese giant approved and distributed 90% of this content without banning the channel from which the fake news originated.
The platform directly prohibits political advertising. In the wake of the recent US election, TikTok has strengthened its moderation policy against election disinformation spread through the app. The Byte Dance platform has launched a pre-election center which “connects people who interact with election content” to trusted news sources in over 45 languages. In September, TikTok announced a new policy. Politicians’ profiles are now verified and tagged “reliable sources”, campaign fundraisers and deepfakes are prohibited on the platform, monetization tools are not available for videos, etc. Now the Chinese giant has also decided to ban influencers from its platform who circumvent its rules by forming paid partnerships with political parties or candidates.
Despite these measures, anxiety remains among researchers. Compared to the 2020 US presidential election: “This year is going to be much worse as we approach the midterm elections.”said Media Matters researcher Olivia Little. “There has been an exponential increase in users, which means there will be more misinformation. TikTok must actively work to stop this content or we risk another disinformation crisis. »
Meta reiterates its 2020 strategy
Meta also does not shine with its moderation. The app broadcasts “ a significant number ads containing misinformation, according to a study by Global Witness. As in 2020, while moderation is quite effective in English, it is not so in other languages. 20% of ads in English and 50% of ads in Spanish were allowed.
In response, a Facebook spokesperson said the tests “are based on a very small sample of ads and are not representative of the number of political ads we review every day around the world. » Before adding that the company has invested “significant resources” protect the electoral process.
In late August, the company announced in a press release that Meta wants to implement a policy based on the same principles as it adopted in 2020; location of polling stations, as well as voting results. The tech giant also said it was banning political advertisers from posting new posts. “One week before the elections”.. At the time, however, these measures were insufficient to stem the flow of false information on the platform when the results were announced or during an attack on the Capitol.
Perfect unit for YouTube
In turn, YouTube is the big winner of the Global Witness survey. The video not only blocked the airing of all misleading ads, but also banned the channel that caused the false information.
The platform has made progress since the 2020 US election. Unlike Facebook, the video site has not banned posts claiming victory for one side. And live video, which is inherently harder to measure, is a major source of misinformation. Google (the owner of YouTube) has since said that it did “They have developed large-scale measures to combat disinformation” on its platforms, including false claims about elections and voting.
The results obtained from the study are obviously subject to qualification. As of August 2022, YouTube had approved ads containing false information during a similar investigation by Global Witness in Brazil.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.