Prior to the European elections, many fear that voters could be due to misinformation influenced from within, but also outside the EU. How effective is the largest social network Facebook is going on about it?
The Post of “Reconquista of Northern Swabia” from the 10. April is Facebook still available. “Green start to be authentic in the European elections in 2019”, including pictures of election campaign offices in donauwörth, the posters adorn: “Nazis fight with all means”, reads one on one, “death to the white, German man” on the other. There are Fakes, forgeries, with which the Green defamed and their voters unsettled to be the physical posters were removed on the same evening, only in the net you can find.
Who wants to share the above-mentioned contribution, however, in the case of Facebook, the warning, “he is doubted by Correctiv and dpa-fact check”. The two media companies are to be disseminated two according to Facebook, more than 40 partners in Europe, the review of questionable content in the social network.
The example from Bavaria is only one of many. As well as disinformation aimed to influence the political opinion of citizens. How effective this actually is, there is still no valid evidence. At least, it cannot be excluded that elections with targeted campaigns will be affected.
The Facebook profile of the EU Commission – it is using the social network, of course
In four weeks, citizens of all EU countries choose a new European Parliament, in its term in office so many important decisions and events that one can rightly speak of a direction for the future of the EU. As a hub for disinformation, the platforms of the Facebook group are particularly in focus, the many millions of Europeans.
The rude awakening after the US elections
“We started in 2016, with the U.S. presidential election campaign relatively poorly in the subject,” deplored Semjon Rens of Facebook during a discussion in Hamburg. Meanwhile, the report of the special investigator, Robert Mueller, that the Russian actors, such as the Internet Research Agency (IRA) had misused the social network to misinform miss, in favour of the from the Russian perspective, genehmeren candidate Donald Trump documented.
Since then, Facebook Teams with many employees have built up, in order to combat disinformation, Rens, Public Policy Manager at Facebook for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was a challenge to find the right contact person in each of the countries – while the German Federal office for security in information technology law was quickly made aware of the theme, customise the search of a contact person in other countries is tougher.
Lender party to disclose advertising
Europe is also, after decades of uniformity of Standards in the EU politically is still much more complex than the USA, where much of California is regulated to New York.
The Russian interference in the US election confirmed: special investigator Robert Mueller in Washington
“We have to do it with a completely different choice of law systems in the 28 member States,” says Rens on the question of why the so-called library was only a few weeks before the election. She is one of the many measures that Facebook wants to make its users easier, the political interests to understand the behind platform content: When political actors in advertising, to directly be about who has paid how much.
“This is a step in the right direction,” said Alexander singer leaves during the discussion. He conducts research at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung in Berlin to digital disinformation. “We are excited to see all how it works.”
Facebook sets the researchers limits
However, the parties switched and paid ads are just one of the many categories of political content – and most of them will have the access remains limited. Although one could analyze the pages, the run is probably disinformation, individually. That alone is not enough, however, singer Laub: “In disinformation campaigns is often not even clear which actors are with which messages on the go.” He urges that scientists should be given access to all public posts, with the larger amounts of data systematically can browse.
Such an interface had closed on Facebook after 2017 it was reported in the Cambridge Analytica scandal that the personal data of millions of users have been disclosed. Meanwhile, Facebook allowed after statement of Semjon Rens, although again scientists access, however, is not always clear how these researchers are to be selected. “To the European elections, we are flying blind,” complains Alexander singer leaves. “There will be difficult to figure out, how much really to misinform on-the-go.”
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The Data Octopus Facebook
Much more difficult than in the case of Facebook and Instagram, the tracking of Fakes in the third major App of the group, the Whatsapp Messenger is. “Whatsapp is end-to-end encrypted, i.e. the data are not stored in Facebook,” said Facebook representative Rens.
“When we talk about privacy, and find many great, in the case of parliamentary elections, if there is suddenly a threat.” The need to clarify a fundamental debate about the relationship between security and privacy. Prior to the presidential election in Brazil, Whatsapp, for example, served as a dissemination channel for disinformation, since the forwarding functions have been restricted. However, the Messenger has in Brazil a different role than in Germany, said: “Whatsapp is not for the European Parliament election is so important,” explains Rens.
Posting the Fakes?
Malicious or bogus information from, among other things, of Fake profiles in the circulation, i.e., the allegedly real people behind the Account in truth someone else’s. Facebook delete such Profiles, asserts Ren. Exact Figures regarding the European elections, he called on demand. He also dampens the expectations: “We will never manage to delete all the Fake Accounts from our side.”
Disinformation on the road – EU-hostile election poster in Budapest
However, disinformation is by no means restricted to foreign Troll factories, but is also found in conventional media. An example of this is the now-discredited fire letter of about 100 lung doctors, the health risk posed by diesel engines, the tabloid “Bild” – spread without journalistic plausibility check. Also on the road of disinformation takes place; here are several EU-hostile poster campaigns of the Hungarian President Viktor Orban.
In the end, it is so, not least, the responsibility of the citizens not to let themselves be exploited and to ask critical questions about who you believe the Information or not. This applies to Facebook, but offline as well.