Meta’s Role in Global Elections: Balancing Free Speech and Safety in 2024

The recent presidential election in the United States capped off an unprecedented year in which as many as two billion people were expected to vote in elections across some of the world’s biggest democracies, including India, Indonesia, Mexico and the European Union. As a company that operates platforms where public discourse takes place, Meta understands the responsibility it has to protect people’s ability to make their voices heard, and ensure we are prepared for the many elections around the world.

Since 2016 we have been evolving our approach to elections to incorporate the lessons we learn and stay ahead of emerging threats. We have a dedicated team responsible for Meta’s cross-company election integrity efforts, which includes experts from our intelligence, data science, product and engineering, research, operations, content and public policy, and legal teams. In 2024, we ran a number of election operations centers around the world to monitor and react swiftly to issues that arose, including in relation to the major elections in the US, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, the EU Parliament, France, the UK, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil.

With the US election in the books, we are in a position to share some of the trends we’ve seen on our platforms, and explain how we have sought to balance protecting people’s ability to express themselves with keeping people safe throughout the year.

Enabling Free Expression

Striking the balance between allowing people to make their voices heard and keeping people safe is one that no platform will ever get right 100 per cent of the time. 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. Throughout the year we have sought to update and apply our content policies fairly so that people can make their voices heard, and we will continue to work on this in the months ahead.

• We launched political content controls on Facebook, Instagram and Threads to give people the ability to have more political content recommended to them if they want. These controls have launched in the US and are in the process of rolling out globally.
• We allow people to ask questions or raise concerns about election processes in organic content. However, we do not allow claims or speculation about election-related corruption, irregularities, or bias when combined with a signal that content is threatening violence. We clarified our policies to make that distinction. For paid content, we <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/
  
  

  What specific ⁢strategies ⁤does Meta employ to mitigate the spread⁢ of misinformation during elections?

  ## Meta’s Role in Global Elections: An Interview

  **Host:** Welcome back to the​ show. Today we’re discussing the role of social media‌ in global elections, and joining us is [Name], [Title] at Meta.

  [Name], ⁤thanks for being here.

  **Alex Reed:** ⁢It’s my pleasure to be here.

  **Host:** This year was a huge one for global democracy, with major elections taking place around the world.

  According to Meta, as many as⁣ two billion people participated in elections in countries ⁢like India, Indonesia, ⁢Mexico, and the European Union, culminating in the recent US Presidential election.

  Tell us about Meta’s strategy for handling this unprecedented level of political engagement?

  **Alex Reed:** You’re right, it was a busy year! At Meta, we recognise the crucial role our platforms play in public discourse, particularly‌ during elections. Since 2016, we’ve been constantly evolving our approach to‌ elections, learning from past​ experiences and staying ⁣ahead of emerging threats. This year, we deployed dedicated election operations centers worldwide ⁤to monitor and respond swiftly to any issues that arose during key elections in the US, Bangladesh, ⁢Indonesia, India, Pakistan, the EU Parliament, France, the UK, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil. [1]

  **Host:** That’s a comprehensive list. What specific challenges did Meta face in protecting the integrity of ⁢these elections?

  **Alex Reed:** While I can’t delve into specifics,⁢ our teams work tirelessly to ‍mitigate a​ range ‍of threats, including the‍ spread of misinformation, coordinated inauthentic behavior, and foreign interference. We ‌invest heavily in artificial intelligence‍ and human moderation to identify and remove harmful content, and ​we partner with⁤ independent fact-checkers to⁤ verify information and provide context.

  **Host:** And what about the concerns around AI’s potential⁣ impact on elections? How⁣ does Meta address those?

  **Alex Reed:** We acknowledge the potential‌ for misuse of AI, and we ‌take these concerns very seriously. Meta has stated that AI’s impact on global elections in 2024‍ was “modest”. [1] We are committed to developing and deploying AI responsibly, with a focus on transparency and accountability.

  **Host:** Thank you for sharing your insights, [Name]. It’s clear that Meta plays ⁣a significant role⁢ in safeguarding the integrity of elections worldwide. We appreciate you taking the time to​ discuss this important topic with us today.

  **Alex Reed:** My pleasure.

  [1]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/3/meta-says-ai-had-only-modest-impact-on-global-elections-in-2024