Meta’s Strategy Against Election Disinformation – CrowdTangle Shutdown and New Initiatives

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) has announced plans to discontinue CrowdTangle, a widely utilized data tool by academic researchers, journalists, and others for tracking content dissemination on Facebook and Instagram.

The social media giant intends to replace CrowdTangle with the Meta Content Library in five months, limiting access exclusively to academic and nonprofit researchers, excluding most news outlets.

CrowdTangle’s decommissioning follows years of its use in studying the spread of misinformation and causing frustration among Meta’s leaders due to reporting that often highlighted problematic content spread, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Meta is currently accepting applications for access to the Meta Content Library, promising it as an improvement over CrowdTangle with new capabilities, such as measuring content’s reach and accessing public comments data.

However, early reviews from researchers like Cody Buntain and Rebekah Tromble present a mixed view, citing shortcomings like the inability to analyze social media activity by geographic location and restrictive data access policies, the WSJ noted.

The decision to shut down CrowdTangle by August 14, amid the 2024 U.S. election campaign, raises concerns about the impact on political research on Meta’s platforms.

Meta had faced immense flak for perpetrating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot vandalism.

The company prohibited political campaigns and advertisers from using its new generative AI advertising products to counter the spread of election misinformation.

Multiple state attorneys general are already challenging Meta with lawsuits concerning the platforms’ effects on underage users.