The investigation calls into question the accuracy of Facebook’s tools to detect and block misleading political adverts.
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Facebook has been accused of spreading disinformation after misleading adverts about upcoming elections in Brazil were accepted for publication on the platform.
An investigation by human rights group Global Witness found Facebook had approved adverts it submitted which promoted the wrong election date and false voting methods. Global Witness said the adverts were made on an account which had not been approved for ad authorisation and paid for with a non-Brazilian payment method.
The investigation calls into question the accuracy of Facebook’s tools to detect and block misleading political adverts and campaigns shown on its platform.
Jon Lloyd, senior advisor at Global Witness, said: “Despite Facebook’s self-proclaimed efforts to tackle disinformation – particularly in high stakes elections – we were appalled to see that they accepted every single election disinformation ad we submitted in Brazil.
“Facebook can and must do better. It’s not enough to say they’ve hired thousands of content moderators and have invested in AI detection...they need to show their work.”
in June, a previous investigation by Global Witness suggested the platform approved adverts containing violent hate speech written in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia.
Earlier in the year, a group of over 90 Brazilian civil society organisations produced a report outlining the role of digital communications during the forthcoming election.
“False or misleading information affects the collective dimension of freedom of expression,” the report said, urging: “mechanisms must be offered so that people whose freedom of expression has been unfairly impacted can, within a short period, resume their ability to contribute to the democratic process.”
Global Witness urged Facebook owner Meta to respond to the report’s recommendations and increase its content moderation capabilities to cater for “appropriate cultural context and nuance” in the upcoming Brazilian elections.
In a statement a Meta spokesperson said: “We are and have been deeply committed to protecting election integrity in Brazil and around the world.”
“Our efforts in Brazil’s previous election resulted in the removal of 140,000 posts from Facebook and Instagram for violating our election interference policies and 250,000 rejections of unauthorized political ads.”
