Meta, the parent company of social media giants Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, is gearing up for the upcoming Indian General Elections in 2024 with a comprehensive strategy aimed at combating misinformation, enhancing transparency, and preventing voter interference.
In a recent announcement, Meta unveiled its plans to boost its network of third-party fact-checkers in India and invest in consumer awareness initiatives to help users identify and combat misinformation. With the election looming, Meta intends to activate an Elections Operations Center to identify and address potential threats in real-time.
"Starting this year, we also require advertisers globally to disclose when they use AI or digital methods to create or alter a political or social issue ad in certain cases. This applies if the ad contains a photorealistic image or video, or realistic-sounding audio, that was digitally created or altered to depict a real person as saying or doing something they did not say or do," the company said in a statement.
The company boasts a global team of over 40,000 personnel dedicated to safety and security, with a significant investment exceeding $20 billion since 2016, it informed.
Meta's efforts encompass a multi-pronged approach, including the deployment of industry-leading transparency tools for political ads, fact-checking mechanisms, and collaboration with the Election Commission of India through a Voluntary Code of Ethics.
The platform's Community Standards and Guidelines apply to all content, including that generated by AI, with stringent measures in place to remove violative material.
Furthermore, Meta is rolling out consumer education initiatives to empower users to discern and counter misinformation effectively. Initiatives like the 'Know What's Real' campaign aim to educate users on identifying and addressing misinformation on WhatsApp and Instagram, along with providing tools to report suspicious content.
In collaboration with the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), Meta has introduced a WhatsApp helpline to combat AI-generated misinformation, particularly deepfakes. Additionally, measures to limit message forwarding on WhatsApp aim to curb the virality of misinformation.
Additionally, advertisers are required to undergo an authorisation process and include a "paid for by" disclaimer, with all relevant information stored in the publicly available Ad Library for seven years.
