Big Tech platforms limited the spread of millions of posts throughout the period of the European Parliament elections in June, newly released documents have confirmed.
Reports published on September 24 by Meta, Google, and TikTok under the European Union’s voluntary anti-disinformation code showed that all three companies took measures to limit the spread of content deemed to contain “disinformation” by fact-checkers.
Meta explicitly stated that the number of posts it deboosted in such a manner during the election numbered in the tens of millions.
“Between 01/01/2024 to 30/06/2024, over 150,000 distinct fact-checking articles on Facebook in the EU were used to both label and reduce the virality of over 30 million pieces of content in the EU,” the company said.
Between 01/01/2024 to 30/06/2024, over 150,000 distinct fact-checking articles on Facebook in the EU were used to both label and reduce the virality of over 30 million pieces of content in the EU
“As for Instagram, over 39,000 distinct articles in the EU were used to both label and reduce the virality of over 990,000 pieces of content in the EU. These numbers demonstrate the powers of our tools to scale the work of independent fact-checkers.”
The company estimated that the limits it imposed on such posts prevented around half of the people aiming to share such posts from doing so, although exact numbers varied from country to country.
It added that it applied notifications to “outdated articles” and links posted on its Facebook platform — defining outdated as being any article that was deemed to be “more than 90 days old”.
Such restrictions were not applied to official government sources of information, or organisations deemed to be “recognised global health organisations” by Meta.
The decision to omit such sources from the body’s moderation policies, it claimed, was to ensure it did not “slow the spread of credible information, especially in the health space”.
Chinese-owned platform TikTok also admitted to artificially restricting the spread of an unknown number of posts deemed undesirable.
“To limit the spread of potentially misleading information, the video will become ineligible for recommendation in the For You feed,” it wrote in its report.
YouTube has built systems to ensure that its ranking and recommendations surface high quality content to curb the spread of harmful misinformation and ‘borderline’ content — content that comes close to, but does not quite violate YouTube’s Community Guidelines
“The video’s creator is also notified that their video was flagged as unsubstantiated content and is provided additional information about why the warning label has been added to their content. Again, this is to raise the creator’s awareness about the credibility of the content that they have shared.”
Google said it automatically deboosted videos on YouTube that consisted of “low quality” information, even when it considered the posts to be in line with its terms of service.
“YouTube has built systems to ensure that its ranking and recommendations surface high quality content to curb the spread of harmful misinformation and ‘borderline’ content — content that comes close to, but does not quite violate YouTube’s Community Guidelines,” the company wrote.
“To determine borderline content, external evaluators located around the world look at whether content is inaccurate, misleading or deceptive; insensitive or intolerant; harmful or with the potential to cause harm.
“This input trains YouTube systems to automatically identify this type of content,” it added.
It’s not about public safety or transparency — it’s about controlling the narrative. The EU, in collaboration with Big Tech, is ensuring that their version of the truth is the only one allowed to circulate, a clear violation of the principles of free speech.
Speaking to Brussels Signal, senior Patriots for Europe MEP Tom Vandendriessche said the documents were proof of a “systematic effort to suppress dissenting voices, particularly those aligned with the nationalist and conservative movement”.
“The reality is that these platforms have immense power to shape public opinion by deciding what gets seen and what gets buried. During the European Elections, millions of posts were censored, but the real question is: who gets to decide what qualifies as “misinformation”? It’s certainly not the public,” the Flemish politician said.
Vandendriessche went on to say that his Vlaams Belang party in Belgium has had numerous run-ins with tech censorship, with the MEP even winning a court case against Meta over its decision to artificially reduce to reach of his Facebook page without notice.
“My own experience with Facebook, where a court ruled that the platform had unlawfully imposed a shadowban on my page, is just one example of how Big Tech can influence political outcomes by controlling the flow of information,” he said.
“It’s not about public safety or transparency — it’s about controlling the narrative. The EU, in collaboration with Big Tech, is ensuring that their version of the truth is the only one allowed to circulate, a clear violation of the principles of free speech.
“We are witnessing the rise of what can only be described as techno-communism, where the control of information serves to entrench the status quo,” he added.
Facebook owner Meta has been fined almost €28,000 after it censored a right-wing MEP in Belgium. https://t.co/xtlMSA2HKI
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 4, 2024
Reducing the spread of certain posts was not the only way Big Tech companies sought to influence the flow of information both before and after the EP elections.
TikTok said it directed thousands of users in Ireland towards fact-checks written by controversial outlet TheJournal.ie during the elections, as well as the country’s earlier family referenda, which were held in February.
Content produced with the help of the website was included in the election and referendum centres launched by the Chinese platforms and focused “on how to identify misinformation and improve media literacy skills” for both elections.
📽️ Is the EU's digital enforcer telling the whole truth about the Brussels free speech clampdown?
European Commissioner Thierry Breton says the EU's new Digital Services Act is not about restricting free speech but monitoring and rooting out disinformation, leading @JustinStares… pic.twitter.com/o9ASbrxzsD
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 15, 2024
TheJournal.ie — which repeatedly received EU funding in the past — has previously been criticised for its “fact-checks”, which have been described by critics as “dubious” and “almost universally… ideologically motivated, partisan nonsense“.
Google launched a series of projects aimed at “prebunking” so-called “disinformation”.
Targeting users in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Poland, the company worked with third-party organisations attacking methods allegedly used to “advance disinformation”.
We are witnessing the rise of what can only be described as techno-communism, where the control of information serves to entrench the status quo
Released in several EU languages — as well as in Arabic, Turkish and Russian — a number of videos attempted to challenge the ways “misinformation” about migration was allegedly spread.
Speaking on the release of the information, the EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager and transparency tsar Věra Jourová celebrated the release of the documents, arguing that they showed how Brussels had forced Big Tech to take on disinformation.
“The Digital Services Act and the specific measures of the Code constitute a robust framework to protect the integrity of elections,” Vestager said.
“This creates a digital environment where actual enforceable standards ensure that Europeans are better protected against the threat of disinformation.”
COMMENT: The USA has the First Amendment, the EU has @ElonMusk. Is he up for the fight against the draconian Digital Services Act? asks Karl Pfefferkorn. https://t.co/BrrVTLCuDb
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 3, 2024
