Were Facebook and Twitter Consistent in Labeling Misleading Posts During the 2020 Election?

Were Facebook and Twitter Consistent in Labeling Misleading Posts During the 2020 Election?

In an essay for Lawfare Blog, Samantha Bradshaw of American University and Shelby Grossman of the Stanford Internet Observatory explore whether two key platforms, Facebook and Twitter, were internally consistent in how they applied their labels during the 2020 presidential election.
image of police officer over twitter and facebook logos with overlay of tweets and fb posts taken down or labelled by those companies

As the U.S. midterm elections approach, misleading information could undermine trust in election processes. The 2020 presidential election saw false reports of dead people votingballot harvesting schemes, and meddling partisan poll workers. These narratives spread across online and traditional media channels, particularly social media, contributing to a lasting sense that the election was tainted. As of July 2022, 36 percent of U.S. citizens still believed that Joe Biden did not legitimately win the election.

Read More

The Politics of Order in Informal Markets: How the State Shapes Private Governance book cover
News

New Book From Shelby Grossman of Stanford Internet Observatory

In The Politics of Order in Informal Markets: How the State Shapes Private Governance, Grossman explores findings that challenge the conventional wisdom that private good governance in developing countries thrives when the government keeps its hands off private group affairs.
cover link New Book From Shelby Grossman of Stanford Internet Observatory
A graphic depiction of a face falling towards the ground on a red background overlayed with a black satellite dish and the word "takedown".
Blogs

Mind Farce

An Investigation into an Inauthentic Facebook and Instagram Network Linked to an Israeli Public Relations Firm
cover link Mind Farce
News

Seven tips for spotting disinformation related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Shelby Grossman shares what she and her team watch for when analyzing social media posts and other online reports related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Appeared first in Stanford News)
cover link Seven tips for spotting disinformation related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict