Facebook has acknowledged that it mistakenly identified a widely shared image of Donald Trump as “altered.” Facebook’s algorithms detected the image, which depicts Trump raising his fist in the air following an assassination attempt, and labelled it as possibly deceptive. Platform X users claimed that the photo had been marked as altered on their accounts. Facebook responded by saying that unbiased fact-checkers had examined an identical image and discovered it to be false.

Dani Lever, the director of public affairs at Meta, explained on X that the labelling was incorrect. The Facebook’s internal technical system was intended to detect a different version of the image, not the iconic photo of Trump. Facebook expressed regret for the mistake and any misunderstanding it may have created.

“This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed, and we apologize for the mistake,” Lever wrote.

This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake. https://t.co/y613GuuJpV

— Dani Lever (@Dani_Lever) July 29, 2024

Lever confirmed the mistake when Fox News Digital reached out for a comment.

The altered image Lever referenced featured the Secret Service members surrounding Trump smiling. Many media outlets previously fact-checked the images as “altered,” though it confirmed the accuracy of the original image.

None of the agents in the original image are smiling as they surround Trump, who has blood on his face and his right arm in the air. The image – which was captured by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci and distributed by the AP – appeared with coverage of the shooting by many legitimate news outlets.

San Francisco:

Meta said Friday it was lifting restrictions on US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending measures put in place after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in 2021.

It said that “former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.”

Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended indefinitely a day after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and it was determined he had praised people engaged in violence on social media.

His accounts were reinstated in February 2023 but with a threat of penalties for future breaches — an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday.

“In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis,” Meta wrote in a blog post.

It added that US presidential candidates “remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.”

Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, was also banned from Twitter and YouTube.

While those restrictions were later lifted last year, Trump now mainly communicates on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

His Facebook profile, which has 34 million users, includes messages originally published on Truth Social as well as invitations to rallies and videos from his campaign.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Meta said that it took down over 11.6 million pieces of bad content across 13 policies for Facebook and more than 5.4 million pieces of objectionable content across 12 policies for Instagram in India in April.

In April, Facebook received 17,124 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 9,977 cases.

These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues, etc, Meta said in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

“Of the other 7,147 reports where specialised review was needed, we analysed content as per our policies and took action on 4,303 complaints in total. The remaining 2,844 grievances were reviewed but may not have been actioned,” Meta added.

On Instagram, the company received 12,924 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism.

“Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 5,941 cases,” it said.

Of the other 6,983 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta analysed content and took action on 3,206 complaints in total.

The remaining 3,777 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.

“We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning,” said Meta.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris on June 14, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

A group of 33 States including California and New York are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in California also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.

“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem.”

The broad-ranging suit is the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. It follows damning newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, based on the Meta’s own research that found that the company knew about the harms Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues. One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

Following the first reports, a consortium of news organisations, including The Associated Press, published their own findings based on leaked documents from whistleblower Frances Haugen, who has testified before Congress and a British parliamentary committee about what she found.

The use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 in the U.S. report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly”, according to the Pew Research Center.

To comply with federal regulation, social media companies ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms — but children have been shown to easily get around the bans, both with and without their parents’ consent, and many younger kids have social media accounts.

Other measures social platforms have taken to address concerns about children’s mental health are also easily circumvented. For instance, TikTok recently introduced a default 60-minute time limit for users under 18. But once the limit is reached, minors can simply enter a passcode to keep watching.

In May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now” from the harms of social media.

Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday rolled out a temporary feature to limit “harmful and potentially harmful” content on the Israel-Hamas war. The change is part of the company’s efforts to protect people “in the region” from such “unwanted” comments, Meta said in an updated statement on Wednesday (October 18). For now, friends and verified followers of people who create posts in the specified region will be able to comment on the new and public Facebook posts. The war started after the Hamas attack on October 7.

Also Read | “Thank You Meta”: Israel After Mark Zuckerberg Calls Hamas Attacks “Pure Evil”

Meta also said that any content “containing praise” for Hamas will not be allowed on Facebook or Instagram, as the group falls under its Dangerous Organization designation.

“Our policies are designed to keep people safe on our apps while giving everyone a voice,” Meta said in the update.

“We apply these policies equally around the world and there is no truth to the suggestion that we are deliberately suppressing voice,” it added.

Other temporary changes implemented by Meta for content related to Israel-Hamas war:

• Default setting for who can comment on newly created public Facebook posts of people in the region changed to Friends and/or established followers only. Meta said users globally can choose to use this setting and opt in or out at any time.
• Bulk deletion of comments made easier and display of first one or two comments under posts in Feed disabled
• Facebook has also rolled out the ‘Lock Your Profile’ tool in the region. These users can lock their profile in one step, enhancing profile privacy by restricting access to non-friends.

Meta has also been monitoring content from across the globe on the situation in the region. It has formed a group of experts, including fluent Hebrew and Arabic speakers, to oversee this effort.

The company said since October 7, when the conflict broke out, more than 795,000 pieces of content have been removed or flagged for violating Meta policies. Meta has also made changes to content pertaining to potential hostages.

Israel has launched a massive offensive in retaliation to a devastating Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7 during which 1,400 people were killed and hostages were taken.

Israel and Egypt have upheld a blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, tightly controlling the movement goods and people.

New Delhi:

The Opposition INDIA bloc has written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai over their social media platforms’ alleged role in “aiding communal hatred” in the country and demanded that the platforms maintain neutrality in the upcoming elections.

The letters came after the Washington Post newspaper flagged alleged bias of Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube towards the ruling BJP and the Narendra Modi dispensation.

Sharing the letter to Zuckerberg on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Letter by INDIA parties to Facebook’s Mr. Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) citing the exhaustive investigations by the Washington Post that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India”.

“INDIA parties also write to Google’s Mr. Sundar Pichai on exhaustive investigation by the Washington Post that Alphabet and specifically YouTube is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India,” he said in another post while sharing the letter to Mr Pichai.

In the letter to Mr Zuckerberg, the Opposition parties have said the India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is an alliance of 28 political parties in India that represent the combined opposition coalition and are the ruling alliance in 11 states and represent nearly half of all Indian voters.

“You may be aware of the recent exposes by the Washington Post newspaper about the role of WhatsApp and Facebook in aiding the communal hatred campaign of the ruling BJP. Specifically, the article cites details of how this vile, communally divisive propaganda is carried out using WhatsApp groups by BJP members and supporters.

“In another article titled ‘Under India’s pressure, Facebook let propaganda and hate speech thrive’, the Post has elucidated with evidence the blatant partisanship by Facebook India executives towards the ruling dispensation. This was well known to us in the Opposition for a long time and have even raised it several times in the past,” the INDIA bloc parties said.

“It is very clear from these exhaustive investigations by the Washington Post that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India. Further, we have data that shows algorithmic moderation and suppression of Opposition leaders’ content on your platform while also promoting ruling party content,” they said in the letter sent by AICC general secretary organisation KC Venugopal.

The Opposition bloc demanded that Meta’s operations in India remain neutral.

“Such blatant partisanship and bias towards one political formation by a private foreign company is tantamount to interfering in India’s democracy, one that we in the INDIA alliance will not take lightly,” the letter further said.

“In light of the upcoming national elections in 2024, it is our earnest and urgent plea to you to consider these facts seriously and ensure immediately that Meta’s operations in India remain neutral and are not used wittingly or unwittingly to cause social unrest or distort India’s much cherished democratic ideals,” it stated.

The Opposition said it was ironic that the parties had to write the letter in the birth anniversary month of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest champion of non-violence and social harmony in history.

The parties expressed confidence that Zuckerberg and Meta also yearn for a harmonious India that the Mahatma wished for.

In their letter to Google’s Sundar Pichai, they said the recent expose by the Washington Post titled “He live-streamed his attacks on Indian Muslims. YouTube gave him an award” about the role of YouTube in propagating communal hatred and dividing Indian society.

“Specifically, the article cites details of how this vile, communally divisive propaganda is carried out using YouTube by BJP members and supporters.

“It is very clear from this exhaustive investigation by the Washington Post that Alphabet and specifically YouTube is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India.

“Further, we have data that shows algorithmic moderation and suppression of Opposition leaders’ content on your platform while also promoting ruling party content,” they said.

The INDIA parties also urged Google that its platforms operating in India remain neutral and are not used to cause social unrest or distort India’s much cherished democratic ideals, especially during the upcoming elections.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Meta is proposing to offer European users a subscription-based version of Instagram and Facebook if they would rather not be tracked for ads, a source said on Tuesday.

The idea, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as the social media giant seeks to comply with a growing list of EU regulations designed to curb the power of US big tech.

The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg makes its billions of dollars in profit by offering advertisers highly individualized data on users, but new European regulations and EU court decisions have made that harder.

The proposal has been put to EU regulators and is another example of big tech companies having to adapt long-held practices to meet oncoming EU rules.

The source close to the matter said subscribers in Europe could pay 10 euros ($10.50) a month for a desktop version of Instagram or Facebook, or 13 euros a month for Instagram on their phones.

Social media platforms have increasingly floated the idea of charging users for access to their sites, whether to comply with data privacy regulations or better guarantee the identity of users.

But the practice would be a major shift for the social media industry that grew exponentially over the past decade on an advertising model that made the site free for users in return for being tracked and ads seen highly personalized.

The proposal could help meet several regulations including the Digital Markets Act that imposes a list of do’s and don’ts on big tech companies in Europe, including a ban on tracking users when they surf other sites if their consent hasn’t been clearly granted.

It also follows the recommendation of the EU’s highest court, which in a July decision said that Meta platform users who declined to be tracked should be offered an ad free alternative “for an appropriate fee.”

That ruling echoed many previous rulings against Meta and other big tech firms in which the court ruled that the US company must ask for permission to collect large amounts of personal data, striking down various workarounds that Meta had offered.

Meta declined to comment directly on the Wall Street Journal report, but said in a statement that it still “believes in the value of free services which are supported by personalized ads.”

“However, we continue to explore options to ensure we comply with evolving regulatory requirements.”

Meta reported second-quarter revenues of $32 billion, of which $31.5 billion came from advertising. Some $7.2bn of that came from Europe.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)