Meta’s comprehensive plan for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 includes a range of measures to combat misinformation, eliminate voter meddling, and improve transparency and accountability across its platforms.
New Delhi: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, revealed in a recent announcement a comprehensive plan to combat misinformation and ensure transparency during the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in India. The tech giant aims to support free and fair elections by reducing misinformation, eliminating voter influence, and improving accountability across all its platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.
Here are more details on how Meta plans to control misinformation during the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Meta’s Plans for Lok Sabha Elections 2024
Meta has been preparing for the elections by investing in teams and technology related to safety and security. Since 2016, the company has invested more than $20 billion in such areas, with almost 40,000 individuals worldwide working on these topics. In India, Meta employs 15,000 content reviewers who evaluate content on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in over 70 languages, including 20 Indian languages.
General Elections 2024: Operations Centre
To identify possible threats and implement targeted preventative measures, Meta will establish an Elections Operations Centre specifically for India. This centre will bring together experts from various departments, including intelligence, data science, engineering, research, operations, content policy, and legal teams. The company has a close working relationship with the Election Commission of India through the Voluntary Code of Ethics, which it joined in 2019, allowing the Commission a high-priority avenue to report illegal information to Meta.
Removal of Misinformation During LS Elections 2024
Meta plans to remove the most significant types of misinformation from its platforms, such as content that could suppress voting or contribute to imminent violence or physical harm. During the Indian elections, Meta will work with local partners to identify and remove fake news, such as false claims about someone from one religion physically harming or harassing another person or group from a different religion or organisation.
Meta’s Fact-Checking Mechanisms
Meta will leverage keyword detection to facilitate fact-checkers’ ability to quickly identify and rank false material. The company’s new research tool, Meta Content Library, which has a powerful search function, will be available to its partners for this purpose. Indian fact-checking partners will be the first to access the Meta Content Library, aiding in the efficient detection and rating of misleading content.
How Meta Plans to Address Viral Content on WhatsApp
Meta will restrict the number of messages that users can forward on WhatsApp. Messages that have already been sent once can only be transmitted to one group at a time, as opposed to the previous five. Users will also have the ability to ban and report unknown contacts, as well as manage who can add them to group chats.
Meta to Ensure Advertising Transparency
Marketers who run advertisements must complete the authorization process and add a disclaimer that reads “paid for by.” Meta provides information about advertiser targeting preferences and ad delivery in the publicly available Ad Library. All social issue, electoral, and political ads information is stored in the Ad Library for seven years.
Meta’s comprehensive plan for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 includes a range of measures to combat misinformation, eliminate voter meddling, and improve transparency and accountability across its platforms. The company’s investments in safety and security, as well as its close relationship with the Election Commission of India, demonstrate its commitment to supporting free and fair elections in India.