AHEAD of Nigeria’s 2023 elections, Meta has announced steps it is taking to “help preserve the integrity of the general elections.”
Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa at Meta, disclosed this in a blog post on Thursday.
“This work will continue in the lead-up to, during and after the vote. It is grounded in long-running investments we have made in people, technology and partnerships to help reduce the spread of misinformation, detect and remove hate speech, improve digital literacy, help make political advertising more transparent and ensure the safety of people using our platforms.” she wrote.
Some of the steps the Facebook parent company is taking include: increasing transparency of political advertising, fighting misinformation and false news, combating election interference, addressing viral messaging on WhatsApp and keeping people safe from harmful contents on its platforms, among others.
According to Meta, advertisers on politically related issues must undergo a verification process for identification and ensure compliance with the new policy.
“Every political ad in Nigeria will also be labeled with ‘a paid for by’ disclaimer to show who is behind the ad,” Ikenze stated.
She added that steps are being taken to combat the spread of false news on all Meta platforms – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp etc.
“We are taking aggressive steps to fight the spread of false news on Facebook and Instagram.”
“We’ll also have an “I Voted” sticker on Instagram. And on Election Day, we’ll remind people in the country that it’s time to vote with a notification on top of their Facebook Feed as well,” she said.
While reiterating it’s commitment to ensure election integrity in the forthcoming general elections, she emphasized that “at Meta, we know we have an important responsibility when it comes to helping people participate in safe, secure and free elections”.
“As we approach Election Day, we will activate our Elections Operations Centre to identify potential threats in real time and speed up our responses.”
