Meta Faces Criticism and Ends Misinformation Tracking Tool

Meta has closed down CrowdTangle, the analytics platform that aided researchers, journalists, and civil society organizations in comprehending the dissemination of information on Facebook and Instagram.

On August 14, Meta declared its intention to discontinue the use of CrowdTangle due to the lack of a suitable alternative. The company stated that this decision was made in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act.

The choice was made three months prior to the U.S. election and following recent elections in India, South Africa, and Mexico. It was also made in the aftermath of race riots in the UK, which were suspected to have been fueled by false information about immigration on social media.

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“According to an open letter written on Mozilla, Meta’s choice to restrict access to Facebook and Instagram will prevent both the general public and election integrity specialists from monitoring the platforms during what is expected to be the largest election year to date.”

“This poses a significant threat to our ability to protect the integrity of elections, as nearly all external attempts to combat political disinformation, incitements to violence, and online harassment targeting women and minorities will be silenced.”

In 2011, Brandon Silverman and Matt Garmur launched CrowdTangle, which was originally only accessible to digital publishers such as BuzzFeed, CNN, and Vox. However, in 2016, Facebook acquired the platform and allowed free usage for researchers and media partners.

As an alternative to CrowdTangle, Meta has introduced the “Meta Content Library,”which is said to be more comprehensive and offer a deeper understanding of the platform’s activity.

Despite being available, the tool has several limitations. In order to access the Content Library, an application is required and only those from “qualified academic or nonprofit institutions pursuing scientific or public interest research”are eligible.