Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has recently made the decision to shut down CrowdTangle, a popular tool utilized by researchers, watchdog organizations, and journalists to monitor social media posts. CrowdTangle was particularly known for its ability to track the spread of misinformation on Meta's platforms.
The shutdown of CrowdTangle, announced earlier this year by Meta, has sparked protests from various groups. In May, organizations such as the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, Human Rights Watch, and NYU’s Center for Social Media & Politics, sent a letter urging Meta to keep the tool operational at least until January to cover the U.S. presidential elections.
According to the protesting groups, the discontinuation of CrowdTangle jeopardizes crucial oversight mechanisms, especially during a time when social trust and digital democracy are under significant scrutiny. They emphasized that CrowdTangle played a vital role in helping researchers sift through vast amounts of information on the platform to identify harmful content and threats.
Although Meta has introduced an alternative tool called the Meta Content Library, access to it is restricted to academic researchers and nonprofits, excluding most news organizations. Critics have expressed dissatisfaction with the new tool, stating that it is not as effective as CrowdTangle.
Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, mentioned in a recent blog post that the company is actively seeking feedback from researchers to enhance the user-friendliness of the Meta Content Library and ensure it meets their data needs.
Meta defended its decision by stating that CrowdTangle does not offer a complete view of activities on its platforms and claimed that its new tools provide a more comprehensive analysis. The company acquired CrowdTangle in 2016, and despite the backlash, it remains committed to the transition to the Meta Content Library.
