Read on Twitter
. @facebook announced a bunch of efforts to combat electoral interference (mostly aimed at US). There’s lots to unpack here. Giddy up.
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So what is FB doing? Efforts focused on allowing people to opt out of seeing political ads; increasing transparency when people share political ads with others on the network; and efforts to get people to vote. More from Zuckerberg here https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/06/17/facebook-voter-campaign-strengthen-democracy-mark-zuckerberg-column/3191152001/
Let’s be clear. Credit where it’s due. FB is doing more than Google and Twitter (mostly b/c they are biggest platform involved in this stuff). And the issues w/ how ppl misuse FB is often down to the company being more open with how it tackles electoral interference.
But I question if these measures will make a meaningful impact on electoral interference — either by state-backed disinformation, misuse of political ads to target voters, or domestic groups peddling falsities to would-be voters.
Let’s start off w/ political ads. This is a major issue, still. The ad register is biggy, doesn’t collect all the ads & many paid-for messages continue to be shared when they break FB’s rules https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/06/stealth-political-ads-flourish-on-facebook-122539
Next foreign interference: again, FB should be given credit for doing more than Google & Twitter. But the problem here is that foreign groups are now using domestic actors to spread disinformation on their behalf, and attribution about who’s behind messaging is almost impossible
Even when @EU_Commission called out Russia for spreading disinformation around last year’s EU parliamentary election, it was more a guess than a certainty. Warning: anyone who tells you they have definite evidence of foreign meddling is usually wrong https://www.politico.eu/article/european-commission-disinformation-report-russia-fake-news/
Third: domestic groups. If the covid crisis has taught us anything, it’s that people — and not foreign govts or political ads — are the biggest peddlers of falsehoods online. There is no easy way to solve that, and FB knows it https://www.politico.eu/article/facebook-misinformation-fake-news-coronavirus-covid19/
Fourth: the US is a messed up place right now, a country where the left wants full-on content policing rules and the right blames social media companies for bias. This means no legit rules to take even basic first steps against foreign interference have been passed. Fun times.
Contrast that to Canada, which spent 2 years and $20m+ to pass some of the most comprehensive digital election rules arguably in the Western world. Yes, it’s Canada. But now everyone (excluding US) wants to copy them https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/04/canada-foreign-election-meddling-1698209
Other countries also get that this is a problem. But just like in the US, many aren’t following the basic advice outlined by local officials (Looking at you, Britain) https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-general-election-facebook-misinformation-boris-johnson-interference-russia/
So when FB says “we need regulators to regulate,” they aren’t wrong. And I would say we shouldn’t leave these electoral decisions to private companies — many of which don’t have best track record on combatting this stuff imho
So how do I rate FB’s latest announcements? Honestly, 3/10. Not because they aren’t worthwhile, and not because the people behind these policies aren’t legitimately doing what they can to make the platform safer.
But because I ask myself this question: is FB (and Google/Twitter) prepared for what is coming this year? Both in the US, and in places like Poland, Myanmar & Georgia (the country, not US state) that all have elections this year?
My honest answer is no. The problem of digital electoral interference & disinformation is more complex, sophisticated & entrenched now than ever before. And even the best-funded companies on the planet don’t really have an answer.
Rant over. Thoughts appreciated.
