The Oversight Board’s Call for Meta to Update Its Manipulated Media Policy: A Necessary Step Towards Preventing Misinformation

The Meta Oversight Board, an independent body established to make binding decisions on content issues for Meta’s platforms, has recently issued a call for Meta to update its manipulated media policy. The board’s decision came in response to a closely watched case involving a misleadingly edited video of President Joe Biden. The video, which was not edited with AI tools, showed the president placing an “I voted” sticker on his granddaughter’s shirt after she had voted. A Facebook user later shared an edited version of the video, looping the moment so it appeared as if the president was repeatedly touching her chest. The caption accompanying the clip labeled him as a “sick pedophile,” and accused those who voted for him of being “mentally unwell.”

Despite the controversial nature of the video, the Oversight Board ultimately sided with Meta’s decision not to remove the clip. The board found that the edits were “obvious and therefore unlikely to mislead” most users. However, the board expressed concern about the current form of Meta’s manipulated media policy, which only applies to videos that are edited with AI and does not cover other types of editing that could be misleading.

The Oversight Board’s recommendations to Meta were clear and unequivocal. The company should write new rules that cover audio and video content, and apply these rules not just to misleading speech but to content showing people doing things they did not do. The board also suggested that Meta should no longer remove posts with manipulated media if the content itself is not breaking any other rules. Instead, Meta should apply a label indicating that the content is significantly layered and may mislead.

The board’s recommendations underscore mounting concern among researchers and civil society groups about how the surge in AI tools could enable a new wave of viral election misinformation. The use of AI to manipulate media content has become increasingly sophisticated, making it difficult for social media platforms to distinguish between real and manipulated content. The Oversight Board’s call for Meta to update its policy is a necessary step towards preventing the spread of misinformation and protecting the integrity of elections.

Meta’s current manipulated media policy is narrowly written and focuses on how content has been created rather than on the specific harms it aims to prevent. The board’s recommendations highlight the need for a more comprehensive approach to addressing manipulated media content. The new rules should be focused on preventing specific harms, such as electoral interference, rather than on the method of creation.

The Oversight Board’s decision and recommendations come at a critical time, as the 2024 presidential election approaches. The use of manipulated media content to spread misinformation and influence elections is a growing concern, and social media platforms must take steps to prevent this from happening. Meta’s response to the Oversight Board’s recommendations will be closely watched, and any policy changes will have a significant impact on the way that content is regulated on the platform.

In conclusion, the Oversight Board’s call for Meta to update its manipulated media policy is a necessary step towards preventing the spread of misinformation and protecting the integrity of elections. The current policy is narrowly written and focuses on how content has been created rather than on the specific harms it aims to prevent. The new rules should be focused on preventing specific harms, such as electoral interference, and should apply to all types of audio and video content, regardless of the method of creation. Meta’s response to the Oversight Board’s recommendations will be closely watched, and any policy changes will have a significant impact on the way that content is regulated on the platform. The future of social media regulation lies in the ability to effectively address manipulated media content, and the Oversight Board’s recommendations provide a roadmap for how this can be achieved.