Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, and social media companies have been preparing to tackle election misinformation across their platforms.
More than 40,000 people are working on Meta's election safety and security efforts, and the company says it works with 11 independent fact-checking partners in the U.S. They include PolitiFact, Reuters and USA Today.
WhatsApp users can message fact-checking organizations directly, and Meta will flag content that's been forwarded through five or more chats. Meta said this will help users understand that the information didn't come from a close contact and will slow down the spread of rumors. The company launched its U.S. Election Center in partnership with the nonprofit Democracy Works in January. The Election Center includes voting FAQs from official sources, and users are directed there when they engage with election content and searches, TikTok said. As of September 4, TikTok's Election Center had been viewed more than 7 million times.
Additionally, TikTok said it's been working to identify covert influence attempts on the platform. In a May blog post, for instance, the company said it had identified 15 influence operations in the first four months of the year, and it removed more than 3,000 accounts associated with those operations.
"Whether they are state-affiliated entities engaged in covert influence operations or generic spam networks, we actively work to thwart and disrupt campaigns that threaten to degrade the integrity of the platform," the company said. YouTube's homepage will highlight information about how and where to vote, and users may see another panel that directs them to Google if they search"how to vote" or"how to register to vote." Additionally, users will see a shelf of authoritative news channels on the home page during election day, which will be available in both English and Spanish, the company said.
"2024 has been a busy year for elections, and YouTube remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that our platform empowers and informs voters while protecting them from harmful misinformation or disinformation campaigns," the company said.