How Meta is preparing for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria | Meta – AI News Update

Today we are sharing an update on our work to prepare for and help preserve the integrity of the general elections to be held in Nigeria on February 25, 2023.

This work will continue before, during and after the vote. It’s built on long-standing investments we’ve made in people, technology and partnerships to help reduce the spread of misinformation, detect and remove hate speech, improve digital literacy, help make publicity more transparent policy and ensure the safety of people using our platforms. .

Removal of harmful content to keep people safe

We want people to be able to talk openly on our apps about the issues that matter to them, while feeling safe. Our community standards (also available in Hausa) publicly explain what content is and is not allowed on Facebook and Instagram, and cover a number of election-related areas. These include policies on harassment and incitement to violence, as well as detailed policies on hate speech that prohibit attacks on people based on characteristics such as ethnicity or religion. When we become aware of content that violates these rules, we remove it.

Since 2016, we have quadrupled the size of our global team working on safety and security to 40,000 people. This includes over 15,000 content reviewers who review content on Facebook and Instagram in over 70 languages, including Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.

As Election Day approaches, we will activate a Nigeria-specific Election Operations Center focused on identifying potential threats to our applications and technologies in real time, thereby speeding up our response time. This initiative will bring together experts from across our company across our intelligence, data science, engineering, research, operations, public policy and legal teams.

Countering disinformation and fake news

We remove the most serious types of misinformation from Facebook and Instagram, such as content that could contribute to imminent violence or physical harm, or that aims to suppress voting. This includes fake news about dates, places, times and methods of voting. For Nigerian elections, based on advice from local partners, this will specifically include photos and videos shared out of context that falsely depict ballot stuffing, acts of violence or weapons.

For content that does not violate these particular policies, we work with independent fact-checking organizations in Nigeria – AFP, Africa Check, Dubawa and Reuters – who review and rate content in English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. When content is rated as “false” or “partially false” by these fact checkers, we attach warning labels to the content and reduce its delivery in the Facebook feed so people are less likely to see it.

To help Nigerians spot and take action against fake news online, we have partnered with local radio stations to create “#NoFalseNewsZone” radio dramas in English and pidgin, and run ads on Facebook and on Facebook. radio in Yoruba, Pidgin, Hausa and Igbo.

Address virality on WhatsApp

WhatsApp will continue to limit people’s ability to forward messages and announced last year that any message that has been forwarded once can only be forwarded to one group at a time, instead of the previous limit of five. When we introduced the same feature for highly forwarded messages in 2020, we reduced the number of these messages sent on WhatsApp by more than 70%.

WhatsApp Search the web The feature also allows users to recheck the text content of messages that have been forwarded multiple times. This means that they can find other sources of information about the content they have received.

People can also control who can add them to group chats and have options to block and report unknown contacts, giving them even more control over their privacy.

Make political advertising more transparent

Advertisers looking to serve ads related to social issues, elections or politics on our applications in Nigeria must undergo a verification process to prove who they are and that they live in the country. Their ads will also be tagged with a “Paid by” disclaimer to show who’s behind it.

We’ve also introduced new controls so users can choose to see fewer ads about social issues, elections, and politics. When users use these controls, they will no longer see ads with the “Paid by” disclaimer.

We ensure that all ads are added to our Announcement Library for seven years, so everyone can see what ads are runningg, see targeting information and find out how much was spent on them.

Fight election interference

We’ve established dedicated global teams to end election interference, focusing on Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB) – when groups of people use sophisticated networks of Pages, Groups and Accounts to attempt to manipulate public debate.

Since 2017, we’ve taken down more than 150 networks globally for coordinated inauthentic behavior, including in the run-up to major elections, and we remain vigilant against this behavior. We will remove and publicly share the details of any CIB networks that we identify through our election-related technologies.

Work with local organizations

We work closely with electoral authorities, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, and other local partners in Nigeria to ensure that we prepare appropriately for the specific challenges that an election brings.

We have engaged with women’s safety organizations such as TechHer, ElectHer, Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund and WIMBIZ to support a range of initiatives that encourage civic engagement. We have also provided training on digital security and safety to vulnerable groups, including women politicians, public figures and human rights defenders.

We also provided training to grassroots civil society organizations working to prevent and counter violent extremism in Nigeria, organized in partnership with Look for common groundand hosted a panel discussion with experts, scholars and think tanks working on counterterrorism efforts in the country.

Encourage civic engagement

When it comes to elections, people should have easy access to accurate information from credible sources. That’s why we supported Yiaga Africa, a nonpartisan voter education organization, through a donation to develop a voter education chatbot on WhatsApp.

Launched on On February 1, 2023, the chatbot is helping to provide Nigerian voters with secure information on voting rules, vacancies, what to expect on election day, and the tools they need to cast their vote. Anyone can access the chatbot by messaging +234 (0) 906 283 0860 on WhatsApp or clicking wa.me/+2349062830860.

We will also have an “I voted” sticker on Instagram. And on Election Day, we’ll remind people across the country that it’s also time to vote with a notification at the top of their Facebook feed.