According To the Latest Information from the Report, TikTok and Facebook Approve Ads Containing Political Disinformation

An investigation by the human rights group Global Witness, together with the New York Cybersecurity for Democracy team, found that TikTok and Meta, despite their clearly defined advertising regulations, still approve ads that contain political disinformation. To test the ad approval process on these platforms, 20 misleading ads were sent from fake accounts.

Due to the forthcoming elections and the increase in advertising agitation and propaganda with it, the fight against this kind of disinformation is more important than ever. In this regard, 10 ads in Spanish and 10 in English were sent to each of the platforms. At the same time, half of them contained information that de-legitimized the electoral process, while the other half misled with their election data. The main targets were five states with elections close in, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Georgia, and Arizona.

The presented report confirmed the worst forecasts. Despite the fact that the advertisement contained clearly false information that may make voters confused where and when to vote, as well as information about methods of voting that are not actually possible, this advertisement was allowed to reach a wide audience. Almost all of these ads were approved by both TikTok and Facebook, and YouTube blocked absolutely all of these ads. Also, YouTube blocked all the accounts from which this advertisement was placed.

What do you think is the reason for so much negligence of company management in the fight against disinformation in advertisements? Will action be taken against TikTok and Facebook in the future? Please share your thoughts with others in the comments below.