Facebook removed 'inauthentic behaviour' during Australian polls

Social media platform Facebook has reportedly removed two instances of 'coordinated inauthentic behavioral' during the Australian federal election in May. Facebook clarified to the parliamentary committee that it is neither a referee to political debates nor an arbiter of truth. After the Australian Labor party has appealed to the joint committee on electoral matters to investigate whether the social media is having a negative impact on Australian democracy, Facebook reportedly used the aforementioned statement as its submission to defend its role. “Coordinated inauthentic behavior" is a term used to describe groups of pages or people that work together to mislead others about who they are or what they are doing. 

Read: Facebook, Twitter Usage Alone Won't Cause Anxiety, Depression: Study

Facebook defends allegations of not removing fake news

In its submission to the joint parliamentary committee on electoral matters which examines the conduct of every federal election, Facebook has rejected arguments from Labor and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that it did not do enough to remove death tax content. Facebook further said that the content was deemed false by third-party fact-checkers, and demoted in the newsfeed, but not removed. The social media giant said that it was the ordinary citizens, elected politicians and political parties expressing their opinions on inheritance taxes. The platform said that it staunchly stands against misinformation though it is not a traditional publisher. Facebook added that it temporarily restricted political or electoral ads purchased from outside Australia ahead of the election in April and May. About 2.2 BN fake accounts were removed between January and March 2019, and the majority of these accounts were caught within minutes of registration, Facebook told the committee.

Read: 'Iraq War Did Not Inspire Facebook', Says CEO's Classmate From Havard

Facebook's actions are inadequate: ACCC chairman

ACCC chairman, Rod Sims had said in a media interview that Facebook should have removed the bogus death tax claims given its own independent fact-checking processes had found the material to be false. He also said that though they have the power to fight fake news, they shrug off the responsibility. Warning that the recommendation would turn Australia’s media regulator into truth police, the industry body representing Google, Facebook and Twitter have already rejected the ACCC’s proposal for an industry code of conduct to fight fake news. Liberals, on the other hand, do not blame digital misinformation in their submission to the parliamentary committee, but flagged irregularities with voting.

Read: Facebook Says It Won't Launch Libra Digital Currency Without US Nod

Read: 47 Attorneys General Back Antitrust Probe Into Facebook