Meta has published an overview of its election integrity efforts throughout the year, and specifically in the lead-up to the U.S. Presidential Election, including what it prepared for, what it saw, and what that may mean for the company moving forward.
And with Donald Trump being re-elected, and vowing revenge on those whom he believes have restricted his voice in the past, Meta seems to looking to ease any potential tensions with the incoming President.
As per Meta:
“We know that when enforcing our policies, our error rates are too high, which gets in the way of the free expression we set out to enable. Too often harmless content gets taken down or restricted and too many people get penalized unfairly.”
Yeah, it seems pretty clear what Meta’s talking about here. Trump was incensed after Meta banned him from the app in 2021, in relation to the part that he may or may not have played in the Capitol Riots. Indeed, in a recent book, Trump claimed that Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he sought to interfere with Trump’s campaigning again.
Zuckerberg has sought to iron out any issues with Trump since the election, meeting with Trump in Florida last week. And this overview also seems like another step in that direction, with Meta essentially noting that it may have gone too far, as Trump has claimed, in its efforts to protect its users.
Meta also highlights the various election integrity measures that it’s implemented throughout 2024, including:
- Adding political content controls on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, giving people a way to opt out of political news in its apps.
- Updating its rules around election-process claims
- Conducting audits of words designated as slurs under its Hate Speech policy, in order to protect vulnerable communities
- Updating its penalty protocol related to public figures suspended for violations during periods of civil unrest
Meta has also outlined its efforts to detect and remove foreign influence operations, while also raising voter awareness, and combating AI-generated misinformation (which Meta says was not as big of a factor as many had anticipated).
But really, the general gist of what’s coming out of Meta right now on this front is an appeasement to Trump, in order to smooth the waters before he returns to The White House.
In a separate interview, Meta’s President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg noted that Meta “overdid it a bit” when moderating pandemic-related content, which had been another key Trump criticism of the app.
It makes sense for Meta’s team to seek a neutral ground with Trump, considering that they’ll have to work with his team for the next four years. Though with Elon Musk also in Trump’s ear, a man who has repeatedly shared his disdain for Zuckerberg and Meta, and has even challenged Zuckerberg to a physical fight, it seems that Meta’s going to have a tough time building a real relationship with the President-elect.
Meta’s statements today seem like a step in that direction.
You can read Meta’s full election integrity overview here.
English (US) ·