Meta Puts Democracy and 2024 Election at Risk As November 5th Approaches
Claiming to be Apolitical, Meta Littered with Deceptive Ads and Extremism; Advocates Urge Legislative Action; “Groundhog Day Again” as Meta Evades Accountability
31 OCTOBER 2024 — The Real Facebook Oversight Board issued the following statement on Meta’s 2024 US election failures —
“Weeks after Meta’s PR tour claiming Mark Zuckerberg was ‘done’ with politics and the company had ‘distanced’ itself, reporting continues to show Meta’s colossal failures and outsized impacts on the 2024 US election: from misogyny and racism flourishing to deceptive political ads thriving to Facebook literally “Auto-Generating Militia Group Pages.”
It’s Groundhog Day again — now 9+ years into Meta’s irresponsible, reckless, dangerous approach to political content, the company continues to duck accountability. Even after clear knowledge of the company’s destructive practices, lawmakers have done nothing to reign in this dangerous corporation and protect American democracy.
If the aftermath of the US Election turns violent, focus needs to turn to where extremists are organizing — and why Meta continues, year after year, election after election to put profits above users, and dollars ahead of democracy. This is a company that will not change unless it is forced to change — through meaningful regulation and oversight.
We urge unrelenting, sustained action post-election to reign in this corrosive and toxic company. And we urge anyone working at Meta today, five days from this critical election, to come forward, speak out, step up and do anything you can even in these waning hours of the election to limit the damage Meta is doing to democracy.”
Real Facebook Oversight Board members are available for interviews. Statements do not reflect the individual positions of all Real Facebook Oversight Board Members. Contact us at media@the-citizens.com. The Real Facebook Oversight Board is an emergency response to the ongoing harms on Facebook’s platforms from leading global scholars, experts and advocates.
