Less than two months before Brazil’s 2022 elections, a report from the international NGO found that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, was “disappointed” in its detection of false political ads. The organization tested Facebook’s ability to capture election-related misinformation by sending 10 ads.
Five of the ads contained blatant misinformation about the election. For example, some misrepresented election dates and the methods citizens could use to cast their ballots. Five other ads sought to discredit Brazil’s electoral process, including an electronic voting system the country has used since 1996. Of the 10, Facebook rejected only one. initially but later approved it without any further action from Global Witness.
In addition to their content, the ads have other red flags that Global Witness thinks Meta should see. For starters, the nonprofit didn’t verify the account it used to send ads through the company. . “This was a safeguard that Meta put in place to prevent election interference, but we were able to easily bypass this,” said Global Witness.
In addition, the organization sent advertisements from London and Nairobi. In doing so, it does not need to use a VPN or local payment system to conceal its identity. Furthermore, ads without a “paid by” disclaimer, Meta notes that all “social issue” ads in Brazil must include by June 22, 2022.
“What is quite clear from the results of this and other investigations is their ability to moderate their content and the integrity system they have in place to mitigate some of the risks during election time, it doesn’t work,” said Jon Lloyd, senior advisor at Global Witness, .
Meta did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Meta told Related press it was “thoroughly prepared” for the upcoming Brazilian elections. “We have launched tools to promote reliable information and label election-related posts, set up a direct channel for the High Electoral Court (Brazil’s electoral authority) to send provide us with potentially harmful content for our review and continue to work closely with Brazilian authorities and researchers,” the company said.
This isn’t the first time Global Witness has found Facebook’s election protections desirable. Earlier this year, the nonprofit conducted a similar investigation and reached many of the same conclusions. Subsequently, Global Witness called on Meta to strengthen and strengthen its content moderation system and its integrity.
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