India polls: Meta to activate Elections Operations Centre, fix AI-generated content

NEW DELHI: Meta on Tuesday said it will activate an India-specific Elections Operations Centre, bringing together experts to identify potential threats and put specific mitigations in place across its apps (Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram), while aiming to curb AI-generated fake or manipulated content.

As the world’s largest democracy prepares for the 18th general elections, Meta said it will continue efforts to limit misinformation, remove voter interference, and enhance transparency and accountability on its platforms to “support free and fair elections”.

“We are dedicated to responsible use of new technologies like GenAI and collaborating with industry stakeholders on technical standards for AI detection, as well as combating the spread of deceptive AI content in elections through the Tech Accord,” said the company.

Meta said it is continuing to expand its network of third party fact-checkers in India and “investing in consumer awareness initiatives to help people spot misinformation”.

It now has 11 fact-check partners across the country covering 15 languages.

There are 15,000 content reviewers who review content across Facebook, Instagram and Threads in more than 70 languages — including 20 Indian languages.

“We are closely engaged with the Election Commission of India via the Voluntary Code of Ethics that we joined in 2019, which gives the Commission a high priority channel to flag unlawful content to us,” said Meta.

Starting this year, the company also requires advertisers globally to disclose when they use AI or digital methods to create or alter a political or social issue ad in certain cases.

WhatsApp will continue to limit peoples’ ability to forward messages ahead of elections.