ISLAMABAD: Social media giant Meta has released a Press Fact Sheet outlining measures to protect election integrity on its platforms as Pakistan approaches its general elections. In a bid to foster a conducive environment for fair electoral processes and campaigns, Meta has taken a multifaceted approach, focusing on its Election Operations Team, content moderation, enhanced transparency, and collaboration with local election authorities.
Meta’s core objective is to enable individuals to express their voices and engage in civic processes while combatting issues such as hate speech, voter interference, and foreign influence, which can undermine the integrity of elections.
The company has established an Election Operations Team in Pakistan, consisting of experts across various fields, including election integrity, misinformation, safety, human rights, and cybersecurity. This team, staffed by Pakistani nationals proficient in local languages and context, is dedicated to monitoring and responding to emerging risks in real time.
Addressing harmful content is a pivotal aspect of Meta’s strategy. While the company aims to facilitate political discourse and discussions on important issues, content that violates Meta’s Community Standards will not be tolerated and will be promptly removed. This includes hate speech, violence, incitement, bullying, harassment, and misinformation that may contribute to physical harm or violence.
Meta’s Guidelines for “Harmful Content”
Meta’s guidelines also encompass prohibitions on various forms of “harmful content” related to voter interference, misrepresentation, threats of violence, and attempts to illegitimately participate in the voting process. These measures are aimed at ensuring the transparency and accuracy of information surrounding elections.
Enhanced transparency is another key component of Meta’s strategy. The company has introduced changes for advertisers seeking to run electoral, political, and social issue ads on its platform. Advertisers are now required to undergo an authorization process using government-issued photo ID and display “Paid for by” disclaimers on their ads to provide transparency regarding ad funding sources. Furthermore, Meta maintains a publicly available Ad Library that allows users to search for active ads, view demographic data about viewers, and report ads directly.
Meta also emphasizes providing context about Facebook Pages to help users understand the entities behind them. It offers location information for high-reach Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts on each post, enhancing content reliability and authenticity.
To ensure election integrity, Meta has forged partnerships with local election authorities and established a network of Trusted Partners from Pakistan’s civil society, focusing on digital safety, hate speech, and human rights. These partnerships involve organizations like the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), which specializes in elections and reports harmful content for review.
