There was already a lot of criticism after the 2020 US election. This year the number of fake news and deep fakes in the election campaign is likely to be much higher. Social media companies are approaching the problem in different ways.
A so-called robocall made headlines in the US media a few days ago. US President Joe Biden appeared to be calling on voters in the US state of New Hampshire to abstain from the primaries.
However, the voice was not real, but a deepfake created using artificial intelligence (AI). It is a foretaste of what is likely to happen on social networks in the next few weeks and months before the US election.
“Symbolic act”
Tech companies and social media platforms such as Meta, X, TikTok, Microsoft, Google or Snap promised at the Munich Security Conference to combat the danger of fake news more strongly. Before the upcoming elections, content created by AI should be better labeled and the population should be educated about AI.
But this is a more symbolic act, says Karen North, professor of communication and social media expert at USC Annenberg University in Los Angeles. In her experience, there isn’t nearly enough staff to review AI-generated content. Even AI software that recognizes AI content does not yet work error-free.
X allows political advertising
The declaration in Munich is a minimal compromise that the companies were able to agree on. Because the strategy of the social media platforms is very different.
X, formerly Twitter, relies on a wide variety of opinions. This also means that political advertising is allowed again for the first time. With a view to the US election, the security and election team should be strengthened to combat misinformation, it was said last year. The platform should have a lot to do; The EU reprimanded X boss Elon Musk in September after it was found that X had the highest rate of disinformation.
Political advertising is also generally permitted on the video platform Snapchat, says Lennart Wetzel from the press team ARD: “In addition, every political advertisement is checked manually by our team.” The platform, similar to TikTok, is particularly popular among younger users.
Smaller role of political content in Meta
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, has a completely different strategy. Political election advertising is not permitted there.
In general, political content will soon play a much smaller role there. The company does not want to actively suggest political content to users, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri announced in a post. Users who are interested in it can consciously decide to do so themselves, it is said. Content from accounts you follow is excluded. What exactly “political” means was not defined in more detail.
Meta wants to protect itself from criticism, says Karen North: “They are saying that they will not get involved in politics and will not spread political messages. It’s up to the user to do this consciously.” Meta wants to avoid responsibility.
“Quality journalism devalued”
Media makers were then alarmed because this could also mean that fewer news articles would be suggested to users. “One can assume that it means that quality journalism is devalued,” believes Monika Bäuerlein, managing director and author of the left-liberal US magazine “Mother Jones”, which is known for its investigative research.
It has been observed there for some time that Meta is withdrawing from the news business because there is no money to be made with journalism on the platforms: “It’s really what they call a ‘perfect storm’ here. At the same time, there is a certain level of news fatigue among the audience “The platforms are making it increasingly difficult for people who want to see news to find it.”
And all of this, Bäuerlein warns, comes before an election that is really about the future of democracy in the USA.
Katharina Wilhelm, ARD Los Angeles, tagesschau, February 23, 2024 7:11 p.m