Meta’s decision to close its CrowdTangle division, a tool crucial for tracking content across social media, has sparked criticism from over 100 research and advocacy groups. These groups, including the Mozilla Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology, argue that shutting down CrowdTangle will hinder efforts to combat disinformation, particularly in the context of major upcoming elections worldwide.
The closure of CrowdTangle, slated for August, has drawn concern as it coincides with pivotal election periods, such as those in the United States, Brazil, and Australia. With approximately half the global population set to vote this year, the absence of CrowdTangle poses a significant challenge to monitoring election-related disinformation effectively.
Meta’s decision has been met with backlash, with critics asserting that it will restrict access to crucial data needed by election integrity experts and researchers. CrowdTangle, renowned for its real-time monitoring capabilities, has played a vital role in identifying and addressing disinformation, hate speech, and voter suppression on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
While Meta has introduced the Meta Content Library & Content Library API as an alternative, concerns persist regarding the comprehensiveness and accessibility of this new tool. Critics emphasize the need for Meta to prioritize transparency and ensure that adequate measures are in place to safeguard the integrity of elections amidst the evolving landscape of online misinformation.
