A new research study has revealed Meta and Alphabet’s involvement in funding misleading content, during campaigns coordinated by groups in countries around the world.
According to the study conducted by MIT University through its MIT Technology Review platform, the two aforementioned companies have already paid millions of dollars as part of their content initiatives, which has resulted in an increase in misinformation globally.
The study indicated that these initiatives played a vital role in concealing the humanitarian catastrophe for Rohingya Muslims, as they allowed the spread of false political content through clickbait sites and stolen content sources.
A clickbait or “click bait” is misleading text or thumbnail link designed to attract attention and make users click the link to view its content.
The study found that there was a clear flaw in Facebook’s platform security controls, allowing one person to manage 11,000 accounts, leading to Clickbyte site networks reaching half a million Americans before the election. 2020.
He stressed that at some point during the launch of Facebook’s Instant Articles project, 60% of the content published using this feature was involved in unwanted activities.
On the other hand, the study said that Meta was not the only one involved, but was joined by Alphabet, which is affiliated with Google’s search service, as it revealed the participation of the American company in supporting Clickbait’s site networks. . , through the advertising service “Google AdSense”.
The organizers of these shady sites took advantage of YouTube’s algorithms that drive viral content, regardless of the authenticity of the information it contains, as well as using the “Google Drive” service to store misleading content in more than 20 countries.
For its part, Google said in an email to Al Jazeera’s News Monitoring and Verification Agency, “Sanad,” “We work hard to protect viewers from misleading clicks or content on our platforms, and we have invested heavily in systems designed to increase the level of reliable information. “
“After our review, we closed 29 YouTube channels that were reported to us by MIT Technology Review for violating our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.”
“Additionally, prior to this rollout, we had already stopped serving nearly 2,000 videos on these channels. We continue to actively monitor our platforms to prevent actors from seeking to misuse our network for profit.”
Sanad attempted to contact Meta for a response regarding the allegations made against him in the research study, but has not received any response from them so far.
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