Social media platforms Meta Platforms Inc META Facebook, TikTok and Tesla Inc TSLA Twitter-owned CEO Elon Musk failed to live up to their promises of electoral integrity during Kenya’s August elections, a new study has found.
The Mozilla Foundation report said content labeling failed to stop disinformation, as political ads served to amplify propaganda.
The study found that within hours of the end of voting in Kenya, these social media platforms were flooded with misinformation and misinformation about candidates who were supposed to have won the election, and that the tagging from Twitter and Tiktok was tainted and failed to stop the spread of these lies. .
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It said the tainted labeling of posts calling the election before the official announcement affected some parties more than others, making the platforms appear partisan.
Facebook largely failed on this front, failing to provide “any visible label” during the election, allowing propaganda such as claims of the kidnapping and arrest of a prominent politician to spread.
Facebook recently tagged the original post claiming the kidnapping and detention of the popular politician.
Before the elections, these platforms had released statements about the measures they were taking in the run-up to the Kenyan elections, including partnerships with fact-checking organizations.
The report highlighted that in markets such as Kenya, where the level of institutional trust is low and challenged, there was a need to study how they could have applied labeling as a solution in these markets.
Kenya’s general election this year was unlike any other as the country’s electoral body, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), released all results data to the public in its quest for transparency.
The platforms implemented the interventions when it was too late and ended immediately after the elections.
The study also found that Facebook allowed politicians to advertise 48 hours before election day, in violation of Kenyan law. He found that individuals could still buy ads and that Meta enforced less stringent rules in Kenya.
The study also identified some ads that contained premature election results and announcements, something Meta said it does not allow, raising the issue of security.
Meta told TechCrunch that it “relies on advertisers to ensure they comply with relevant election laws,” but has put measures in place to ensure compliance and transparency, including vetting people who post ads.
Price Action: Shares of META traded 0.32% higher at $111.51 in premarket trading last Friday.
Image by Chetraruc from Pixabay
