Facebook voter misinformation vetting tool faulted as ineffective

CrowdTangles dashboard covers public Facebook pages and groups but doesnt include posts from most individual users or from private Facebook groups, according to the report from the Tech Transparency Project.

Facebook isnt providing states with all the data they need to spot disinformation, such as voter suppression efforts, ahead of the November election, the report concludes. TheTTPis part of the Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit research group that investigates corporate influence in Washington.

While the company uses its own machine-learning technology and fact checkers to flag misleading or inaccurate voting information, Facebook will be relying on election authorities to spot and report issues quickly during the vote, to help understand local issues and to decide what to prioritize.

Experts fearvoting misinformation could flourishin the lead-up tothe election on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter Inc.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the company doesnt rely on election officials for the vast majority of its fact checking, but has established a dedicated reporting channel for those officials to report suspicious claims about voting and polling conditions.

There is no silver bullet to combating misinformation, which is why were taking amulti-pronged approach that includes a global fact-checking program and ongoing work with state election authorities to fight voter suppression, the representative said in a statement.

Facebook has criticized previous reports from TTP, including one that suggested the companydelayed a voter registration drivebecause of criticism from Republican officials.

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