Ahead of 2022 polls, Meta working to stop manipulative ‘coordinated campaigns’

A woman holds a smartphone with Meta logo on it in front of a displayed Facebook logo in this illustration taken, October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

MANILA, Philippines — Meta Platforms, Inc., which handles social media sites Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday it is working to stop “coordinated campaigns” that seek to “manipulate public debate” on its platforms as the 2022 national elections draw near.

Meta head of politics and government outreach for Asia and the Pacific Roy Tan said that they are also continuously investigating “coordinated inauthentic behaviors” (CIB) in their platforms.

“We’re constantly working to find and stop coordinated campaigns that seek to manipulate public debate across our suite of apps,” Tan said in a Senate hearing on the rise of social media platforms in the country.

“And when we identify CIB on Facebook or Instagram, we take action and disclose it publicly in our monthly report. And we continue to look at these investigations in the lead-up to elections next year,” he added.

Tan added that Meta also seeks to strengthen its toolkit against “harmful types of networks.”

“We have also updated our bullying and harassment policies, which includes politicians, to help protect people from certain brigading and mass harassment and this means we have additional tools to take down content to fight influence operations,” Tan said.

A human rights consultant tapped by Meta Platforms recently bared that while Facebook provided human rights defenders and other activists an avenue to discuss human rights issues affecting the populace, it also became a tool for several abusers to propagate a culture of misinformation and disinformation.

/MUF