Meta is ending fact-checking in the U.S. Could that affect the vote in Canada?
Restrictions for some incendiary topics being lifted on Facebook, Instagram globally
Social media giant Meta's decision to move away from fact-checking and ease content restrictions on its platforms like Facebook and Instagram could make it easier to interfere in Canada's next federal election and the Liberal leadership race to succeed Justin Trudeau, say experts.
While Meta says replacing third-party fact-checking with "community notes" will roll out first in the United States in the coming months, it says its easing of restrictions on incendiary topics will take effect globally.
Experts say the changes could better allow online misinformation and foreign interference to cross the border into Canada.
"With a leadership election looming for the Liberals and a federal election on the horizon, this news could not come at a worse time for Canada," said Philip Mai, co-director of the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University.
"[It] sends users a clear and troubling message: You are on your own.… Without trained moderators to enforce rules or combat harmful content, Facebook and IG will become an even bigger breeding ground for false narratives, conspiracy theories and divisive rhetoric."
Aengus Bridgman, director of the Montreal-based Media Ecosystem Observatory, said Tuesday's announcement raises concerns about whether there will still be adequate monitoring of Meta's platforms and removal of co-ordinated foreign interference attempts by people outside Canada.
He is also concerned that it is part of a bigger trend by social media platforms — to reduce or eliminate moderation in the name of free speech.
"Platforms are less and less likely to take any degree of responsibility for the content spread on their sites," he said.
However, Minister of Democratic Institutions Ruby Sahota pointed to Facebook and other social media platforms reaching a voluntary agreement with the federal government in the lead up to the 2019 election to work to protect elections against interference.
Sahota said she expects the platforms to abide by the terms of that agreement, the Canada Declaration on Electoral Integrity Online.
"There will continue to be ongoing conversations with social media platforms, ahead of Canada's next federal election to share information and ensure that the Government of Canada's expectations are communicated, with respect to the role of social media and technology companies in contributing to a vibrant and robust information environment during the election period," Sahota said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government will be watching the impact of the changes, she said.
"The veracity of information is important in the democratic system, and therefore we will continue to monitor the situation."
"The Government of Canada is taking action to protect Canada's democratic institutions and processes from online and other threats, including a number of new or strengthened measures since the last general election."
Meta's decision to end its third-party fact-checking program and replace it with notes from community members mirrors a move already adopted by its rival X, formerly known as Twitter.
The company also plans to stop downplaying political posts by users — something it touted before Canada's 2021 federal election as part of its election integrity initiative — and is lifting its restrictions on topics like immigration and gender identity.
At the same time, it pledged to focus its automated systems that scan for policy violations "on tackling illegal and high-severity violations, like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams."
Julia Perreira, spokeswoman for Meta in Canada, said the changes to fact-checking and community notes will initially apply to the United States.
"We are beginning by rolling out community notes in the U.S. and will continue to improve it over the course of the year before expansion to other countries," she said in an emailed response. "There are no changes to our third-party fact-checking program in Canada at this time."
However, she added, "the updates on discourse restrictions are global."
NDP MP Charlie Angus, who served on an international committee of elected officials that studied Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, said he has seen a rise in recent months of toxic and violent posts in his Facebook feeds, including receiving an AI-generated death threat.
Angus said Cambridge Analytica and Brexit show how Facebook can be used to interfere in votes. He predicts the measures announced Tuesday will have an impact on upcoming Canadian campaigns.
"There are dark mercenary, digital mercenaries, who've been using the platform, who've been using [Meta-owned] WhatsApp and other platforms to drive electoral interference," Angus said.
"It'll certainly play out somewhat, I think, in the Liberal leadership race, but it'll be mostly, I think, just tagging and setting the future Liberal leader up for what's to come in the federal election."
Angus said Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg signalled Tuesday "that it is definitely going to be game on for the disinformation and the extremist crowd."
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's office did not respond to requests for comment on how Meta's changes could impact the upcoming campaign.
Community moderation can move slowly
Bridgman said a community notes system, where users flag problematic content, can be effective but can also work too slowly.
"The initial time period when a post is initially getting steam, there won't be a community note," Bridgman said. "And then by the time there is a community note, it's too late."
While Bridgman said it's not clear from Tuesday's announcement whether the changes will be in effect in Canada during the next federal election, he said the decision to stop downplaying political posts could be positive.
"Bringing that content back is likely to have an interesting impact where more Canadians are going to be exposed to, potentially, messaging from politicians and influencers and those seeking to inform the population," he said.
Bridgman and Mai both believe Meta's announcement is a result of Donald Trump winning the U.S. election.
"This decision is a complete surrender to the pressures from Trump and the MAGA movement," said Mai. "By abandoning years of trust and safety initiatives, Meta is rolling back eight years of hard-fought progress in creating a safer and more accountable online environment."
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