Meta to mark AI, deepfakes to shield election integrity | Southern ...
Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited content and the digital versions of our print editions - Today's Paper.
Major social media platforms will work to combat voting interference during the Australian election as voters face misinformation during the political campaign. or signup to continue reading.
Combatting Misinformation
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, will require posts generated by artificial intelligence or digitally manipulated to carry a disclaimer. It follows concerns realistic deepfakes - digitally altered images, video, or audio that are becoming harder to detect - could be used to spread disinformation and fake news during the election campaign. Photorealistic content in ads created by Meta AI will carry a label as will generated images users post to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and Shutterstock.
Enforcement of Policies
More prominent labels will be added to altered images, video, or audio "that creates a high risk of deceiving the public on a matter of importance," Meta said. Ads that don't adhere will be rejected, and repeat offenders will face penalties. Advertisers who run ads about social issues, elections, or politics also have to include authorizations, including a "paid for by" disclaimer accessible on Meta's publicly available library.
Ensuring Election Integrity
Training sessions are run with candidates and political parties ahead of the election to ensure they have the correct authorizations during the campaign. Meta has analyzed elections worldwide and found concerns about the rampant spread of deepfakes and misinformation didn't materialize significantly. While such posts were used, they were low in volume, which echoes what Australia's acting electoral commissioner said about deepfakes during the US election. Fewer than one percent of fact-checked misinformation on posts about social issues, elections, and politics were AI-generated, Meta determined.
Global Efforts
The company is also working to track coordinated foreign influence operations and says it has taken down more than 200 of these networks since 2017. Misinformation that could lead to imminent physical harm or election interference will be removed per Meta's policies. Meta continues to work with Agence France-Presse and Australian Associated Press to fact-check posts, and those that are debunked will carry a warning label and have distribution limited so they're less likely to be seen.
Partnerships for Verified Information
It is also working with the Australian Electoral Commission to connect voters to verified information across its platforms. Users will receive a reminder to vote on polling day.
