Facebook suspends Australian fact-checking operation amid foreign influence scandal uncovered by Fact Check Files Media Man

Facebook suspends Australian fact-checking operation amid foreign influence scandal uncovered by Fact Check Files

Fact Checking and Big Tech Connection

Wikipedia in the middle?

Fact-checking is a process that seeks to verify factual information, in order to promote the veracity and correctness of reporting] Fact-checking can be conducted before (ante hoc) or after (post hoc) the text is published or otherwise disseminated.Internal fact-checking is such checking done in-house by the publisher; when the text is analyzed by a third party, the process is called external fact-checking.

The US remains the largest market for fact-checking. Research suggests that fact-checking does indeed correct perceptions among citizens, as well as discourage politicians from spreading false or misleading claims. However, corrections may decay over time or be overwhelmed by cues from elites that promote less accurate claims. Political fact-checking is sometimes criticized as being opinion journalism .A review of US politics fact-checkers shows a mixed result of whether fact-checking is an effective way to reduce misconceptions, and whether the method is reliable. (Wikipedia)

Trend towards (My news and my facts beat your news and your facts)

Reducation in trust of big tech and news and online news becomes more politically slanted

Shades of 'The Obsolute Man' ala The Twilight Zone!

In a futuristic totalitarian world, meek and mild-mannered librarian Romney Wordsworth finds himself on trial for being obsolete. This future society has decided on everything people need to know. There is no God and there are no books. Society doesn't need librarians. Romney makes an impassioned plea about his rights and free will but the judge in the case, the Chancellor, will have nothing of it. The jury finds Romney obsolete and orders him to be executed. As he can choose the method of his death, Romney's plans include a little surprise for the Chancellor.

Quotes

Narrator: [closing narration] The chancellor, the *late* chancellor, was only partly correct: He *was* obsolete; but so is the State, the entity he worshiped. Any state or entity becomes obsolete when it stockpiles the wrong weapons: when it captures nations, but not minds; when it enslaves millions, yet convinces nobody; when it dons armor and calls it faith, when in the eyes of God it is naked, having no faith at all. Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of humanity... That state is obsolete. A case to be filed under "M" for Mankind -- in The Twilight Zone.

News, Intel, Interviews and more via the Media Man Group

News

Facebook suspends Australian fact-checking operation amid foreign influence scandal uncovered by Fact Check Files

August 29, 2023

Facebook has blocked an Australian fact checking operation from policing content on its platform after a Sky News Australia investigation uncovered a secret foreign-funded bid to influence the upcoming Voice referendum.

Facebook has suspended an Australian fact checking operation from policing content on its platform after a Sky News Australia investigation uncovered a secret foreign-funded bid to influence the upcoming Voice referendum.

The powerful RMIT Factlab operation - which was being paid up to $740,000 a year by Meta - will be banned from judging what is true or false on social media while Meta and the International Fact Checking Network probe its operation.

Sky News Australia’s investigation, dubbed The Fact Check Files, revealed the university’s fact checking director Russell Skelton was campaigning for the Voice and re-sharing slogans and images created by Labor’s Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney.

Skelton’s team was responsible for several misleading fact checks against Sky News Australia which led to a censorship of journalism related to the Voice referendum.

A Meta spokesman told Sky News Australia that the allegations contained in the Fact Check Files led to a decision to suspend RMIT from its global fact-checking operation.

“The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) requires participating organizations to demonstrate a commitment to nonpartisanship and fairness," Meta said.

"The IFCN will determine whether RMIT FactLab’s expired certification should be reinstated.

"Considering both the nature of the allegations against RMIT and the upcoming referendum, we have decided to suspend RMIT from our fact-checking program pending the IFCN’s decision.

"We remain steadfast in our commitment to stop the spread of misinformation on our services and continue to partner with AAP and AFP in Australia."

While Meta was responsible for payments to the RMIT, the tech giant did not endorse any effort to unduly target one side of the referendum debate. That allegation played a major factor in Meta’s decision to suspend RMIT Factlab from its internal systems.

The decision to axe RMIT from the global fact checking operation means RMIT will need to demonstrate it can adhere to the strict Code of Principles Meta has promised govern fact checking on the platform.

The fact checks by RMIT took place while the university was operating with expired fact checking credentials. The operation had the power to censor journalism on Facebook for more than 8 months even though its certification had lapsed.

Another RMIT fact checker, Renee Davidson, also put the University in jeopardy of breaching impartiality clauses in the IFCN’s Code of Principles by labelling Opposition Leader Peter Dutton a fear-mongering racist on her personal social media account.

The fact checking operation was also likely in breach of section 2.2 of the IFCN’s Code of Principles which do not allow fact checking operations to unduly focus on one side of political debates.

An audit of RMIT Voice fact checks showed the 17 Voice checks between May 3 and June 23 this year were all targeting anti-Voice opinions or views.

Meta has been under pressure globally since the Fact Check Files were published, with billionaire Elon Musk re-sharing the investigation and declaring that Facebook was “manipulating the public almost everywhere on Earth”.

Sky News Australia has obtained a letter from Senator James Paterson, the chair of the Australian senate’s powerful Intelligence and Security committee, which demanded Meta explain how its fact checking operation was allowed to censor important political debates.

“I am deeply concerned by recent reports that Meta is censoring legitimate reporting on its platform, Facebook, relating to the upcoming referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice in the Australian Constitution,” Senator Paterson wrote to Meta’s Australian Director of Public Policy, Mia Garlick.

“A private company interfering with the free speech of Australians is cause for concern under any circumstances. But the decision of a foreign headquartered social media platform to interfere with legitimate public discourse during a referendum to change the Australian Constitution is particularly egregious and cannot go unaccounted.”

Senator Paterson also asked Meta to provide a guarantee the referendum debate would not be influenced or supressed by Meta moving forward.

“Given your recent evidence before the Select Committee, I am seeking a full explanation of how this was allowed to occur, and measures that will now be put in place to ensure that Meta will not further suppress legitimate public debate in the lead up to the Voice referendum,” he wrote.

Meta CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg had made promises to governments globally that the fact checking industry was both independent and overseen by the IFCN.

However, The Fact Check Files investigation revealed Meta had a direct commercial relationship with RMIT which allowed it to pocket up to $740,000 a year in payments.

Sky News host Peta Credlin was targeted by RMIT Factlab for her coverage of a Uluru Statement to the Heart document which was released under a public Freedom of Information Request.

Skelton’s fact checking team ruled it was false to declare that the Uluru statement was longer than one page, and used quotes from one of its authors Professor Megan Davis as evidence.

However, those quotes from Professor Davis were inconsistent with her earlier comments which stated the document was much longer than one page.

Ms Davis also said this:

In her 2018 Parkes Oration: "The Uluru Statement from the Heart isn’t just the first one-page statement; it’s actually a very lengthy document of about 18 to 20 pages, and a very powerful part of this document reflects what happened in the dialogues."
In a 2022 article in The Australian: "The Uluru Statement… is occasionally mistaken as merely a one-page document… in totality (it) is closer to 18 pages and includes… a lengthy narrative called 'Our Story'".
In a webinar for the Australian Institute in August 2022: "It's actually like 18 pages, the Uluru Statement. People only read the first"
At the recent Sydney Peace Prize award ceremony: "It's very important for Australians to read the statement, and the statement is also much bigger it's actually 18 Pages"
Debate around the length of the Uluru document became political with Labor arguing it was just one page while the Coalition disagreed.

READ THE FULL 26-PAGE DOCUMENT HERE.

As a result of RMIT Factlab’s false fact check, Australians on Facebook were stopped from hearing the debate. The fact check also had the chilling impact of limiting the reach of all of Sky News Australia’s journalism.

This meant important news, debate and even live press conferences streamed to the platform were blocked to the world.

Another misleading fact check related to former Liberal MP Nicolle Flint, who weighed into a controversial United Nationals Declaration On the Rights of Indigenous People.

In a live interview on Sky News Australia Ms Flint argued implementing the declaration legislatively could lead to Indigenous Australians having their own independent political system.

Her opinion on a speculative future event, of which no legislation existed, was deemed false by fact checkers. This was a breach of the IFCN rules which state a fact checker cannot deem opinions to be false.

When Sky News Australia raised concerns with RMIT Factlab it stood by its staff and claimed they had freedom of speech on social media.

The International Fact Checking Network director Angie Holan said it was not her place to tell fact checkers how to follow the code.

“The IFCN does not dictate to fact-checkers how they abide by the principles,” she said.

The comment raised questions about the integrity of the fact checking process and whether any operations were required to follow the rules.

RMIT told Sky News Australia it stood by its work on "misinformation" and claimed its suspension related to a lapsed accreditation status.

“RMIT is aware that Meta has temporarily suspended its use of FactLab’s services and understands this decision relates to RMIT FactLab’s accreditation with the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN),” it said.

"This accreditation is currently in the process of being renewed.

“The IFCN has confirmed that FactLab’s fact-checking meets all its standards and adheres to the IFCN’s Code of Principles."

Sky News revealed that RMIT had not been certified for more than 8 months in the Fact Check Files.

Even though RMIT sought to frame its suspension as solely relating to the expired accreditation, Meta has been clear it is also investigating allegations that the university had breached the Code of Principles.

The RMIT went on to blame the IFCN for its lack of accreditation, but asked Sky News to only include that sentence as "background", not to be attributed to the university spokesman.

"The ICFN is a small organisation and there can be delays with processing renewals and these updates being reflected online," the RMIT said in a written statement.

The statement is at odds with Meta's communications and the IFCN website publicly states the onus is on fact checking organisations to become accredited.

*full article (Sky News Australia)

Profiles

Social Social Media Digital Media

Pop Culture Entertainment Television

Facebook Websites

Media Man Int Media Man Australia Media Man Business Media Man Social

Blogs

Media Man Social Blog Media Man News Blog Media Man Digital Blog

Technology Campaigns

Promotions

Website Design, development and promotion services via Media Man Int and Media Man Australia

Technology and FinTech brand promotional, publicity and advertising campaigns

FAANG Directory

Your text advertisement here from as little as $100USD per 12 months

Media, new media, publicity / PR online and traditional campaigns available Contact Us

Website Network

Media Man Int Media Man Australia Greg Tingle Promotions Australian Sports Entertainment

Casino News Media

Facebook Websites

Media Man Int Media Man Australia Media Man Business Media Man Social

Greg Tingle Photography Australian Sports Entertainment

Maroubra Business Media The Alice Online Cafe News Media Bondi Beach Directory

News

‘I got this wrong’: Zuckerberg sorry as Meta cuts more than 11,000 jobs -
November 9, 2022

More than 11,000 employees of Meta will be sacked in one of the biggest layoffs this year as the Facebook parent battles soaring costs and a weak advertising market.

The company confirmed that it would let go of 13 per cent of its workforce.

The mass layoffs, the first in Meta’s 18-year history, follow thousands of job cuts at other major tech companies including Elon Musk-owned Twitter and Microsoft.

The pandemic-led boom that boosted tech companies and their valuations has turned into a bust this year in the face of decades-high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates.

“Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected,” chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees.

“I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.

“I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.”

Meta, whose shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value so far this year, are more than 7 per cent higher on Wall Street on Wednesday.

The company also plans to cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter. But it did not disclose the expected cost savings from the moves.

Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year of service, as well as all remaining paid time off, as a part of the severance package, the company said.

The employees affected will also receive their shares that were set to vest on November 15 and healthcare coverage for six months, the company said.

Zuckerberg is among several top US executives who have this year sounded the alarm on an upcoming recession.

Some of Meta’s wounds, however, have been self-inflicted.

A pricey bet on metaverse, a shared virtual world, has seen the company forecast as much as $US100 billion in expenses for 2023. That has drawn scepticism from investors who are losing patience with investments that Zuckerberg himself expects a decade to bear fruit.

The company is also grappling with stiff competition from TikTok and privacy changes from Apple, while being in the crosshairs of regulators around the globe.

Meta had 87,314 employees as of the end of September.

Boom to bust? What Facebook and Twitter’s mass layoffs say about the future of tech
Twitter has laid off half its staff, and Meta around 13 per cent. - 11th November 2022

Is this a trend across the tech industry?

Twitter and Meta have laid off huge numbers of staff.

Experts say the tech industry is "receding" as the COVID-19 pandemic ends

Digital rights advocates say a publicly-owned social media platform may be needed.

Social media tech giants Twitter and Meta are sacking thousands of employees, while calls for boycotts of their platforms are growing online.

Since taking over Twitter in late October, Elon Musk has fired around half of the company's 7,500 employees, including around 90 per cent of its staff in India.

The heavily-indebted company was losing more than US$4 million ($6.2 million) a day, Mr Musk said in a tweet.

"Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day, " Mr Musk wrote on 5 November.

As well, many companies, wary of Mr Musk's intentions, have held off committing to advertising on the messaging platform, resulting in a big drop in revenue for Twitter.

Mr Musk blamed "activists" for the company's drop in revenue.

"Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists," he wrote in a Twitter post.

"Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America."

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, laid off around 13 per cent of its staff in November, sacking more than 11,000 employees.

"I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a company-wide message on Wednesday.

"I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted."

Mr Zuckerberg said when online commerce surged during the pandemic, he made the decision to "significantly increase" investment into growing the company's size.

"Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected," he said.

"Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected.

"I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that."

Meta stock climbed 5.2 per cent on Wednesday, the day Mr Zukerberg announced the layoffs, closing at US$101.47 ($157.74).

‘Power to the people’? What the future of social media looks like

Mr Musk has promised to take down what he claims is the hierarchical nature of Twitter and provide "power to the people," but some critics say he is making things worse.

"Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit," Mr Musk wrote in a post.

"Power to the people! Blue for $8/month," he said in reference to his plan to make people pay US$8 ($12.50) per month to be verified.

Mr Musk describes himself as a "free speech absolutist" which has drawn criticism from rights groups who say Twitter can be used for hate speech if not moderated.

Mr Musk's stance came into question after several comedians began impersonating him on Twitter, leading him to announce a ban on anyone impersonating others.

Frederike Kaltheuner is the director for technology and human rights at Human Rights Watch. She said free speech should not be absolutist and requires responsible moderating.

“An absolutist view on freedom of expression doesn’t wrestle with these complex challenges – to the detriment of those on the receiving end of harmful speech,” she said.

Amnesty International has released a report calling on Twitter to uphold its responsibilities under the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

In the report, the rights group said that if left unmoderated, Twitter and other social media platforms can become a hub for sexism and racism, and can drive people off the platform, robbing them of their ability to participate in public discussions.

'Huge loss for Meta'

Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University Tama Leaver told SBS News that like Mr Musk, Mr Zuckerberg has also made mistakes with the management of his social media giant.

"Musk has done the unthinkable and made Zuckerberg look like he managed Meta's layoffs well, but that's also not true," Professor Leaver said.

"11,000 people is a huge loss for Meta, especially when it included many internal researchers looking at misinformation, which remains a massive problem on meta platforms."

Professor Leaver said Mr Zuckerberg made a mistake over-investing in Meta's virtual reality (VR) project, which he thinks was premature.

"More bizarrely, VR leads were fired, suggesting that betting the entire company on an unrealised, not yet existing technology, such as the Meta verse, may have been a huge mistake."

Is this the end of tech ‘unicorns’?

Tech giants like Twitter and Meta are not the only companies struggling in the industry.

Tech start ups are also in decline, according to some experts.

It comes after so-called unicorn companies have seen booms in the tech space.

A unicorn company, or unicorn startup, is a private company with a valuation over US$1 billion ($1.56 billion). As of October 2022, there are over 1,200 unicorns around the world.

Popular former unicorns include Airbnb, Facebook and Google.

Professor Leaver said after a boom during the pandemic years, "tech is receding".

"The huge boom of the pandemic years, where tech was our social world, is slowing and correcting, and for an industry built on the myth of endless growth, that's going to hurt their bottom line and their stock price," he said.

"It's also pretty awful for the staff let go and the users now at more risk because moderation will be less precise."

A call for public social media platforms

James Clark is the executive director of Australian charity Digital Rights Watch. He told SBS News profits could be the reason why the social media companies are encountering backlash.

"With digital advertising revenue in decline we are seeing the dangers of letting critical social infrastructure be run by private companies for profit," he said.

"Millions of people around the world now rely on social media websites for getting their news, staying in touch with friends, building community and expressing themselves. But as long as these platforms are run for profit, the needs of users and the public good will never be the priority of these platforms."

Mr Clark said governments should start thinking about government-run, or hybrid social media platforms.

"We can’t leave something as important as our town square in the hands of big-tech companies on the other side of the planet," he said.

"We need to start imagining what publicly or cooperative owner alternatives would look like so that the future of social media is in our hands and not left to the whims of billionaires."

Twitter generated $7.8 billion in profit in 2021, while Facebook reported $73 billion.

Profile

Big Tech

Big Tech, also known as the Tech Giants, Big Four, or Big Five, is a name given to the four or five most dominant companies in the information technology industry of the United States. The Big Four presently consists of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, and Meta (Facebook)—with Microsoft completing the Big Five.

The tech giants are dominant players in their respective areas of technology: artificial intelligence, e-commerce, online advertising, consumer electronics, cloud computing, computer software, media streaming, smart home, self-driving cars, and social networking. They are among the most valuable public companies globally] each having had a maximum market capitalization ranging from around $1 trillion to above $3 trillion. They are also considered among the most prestigious employers in the world, especially Google.

Big Tech companies have been criticized for creating a new economic order called surveillance capitalism. They typically offer services to millions of users, and thus can hold sway on user behavior as well as control of user data. Concerns over monopolistic practices have led to antitrust investigations from the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission in the United States, and the European Commission.Commentators have questioned the impact of these companies on privacy, market power, free speech, censorship, national security and law enforcement. It has been speculated that it may not be possible to live in the digital world day-to-day outside of the ecosystem created by the companies.

The concept of Big Tech is analogous to the consolidation of market dominance by a few companies in other market sectors such as Big Oil and Big Media. Broader groupings of Big Tech sometimes include Tesla, Twitter, Netflix, and more.Companies like Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba Group, and Xiaomi serve as the equivalent to the Big Four in Asia. "Big Tech" may also refer to historical versions of this concept, with IBM and AT&T considered dominant in the 20th century American technology industry. (Wikipedia)

FAANG Directory

Promotions

Bondi Bubble App Launch Party - 11th April 2016

Advertising Agencies enjoying success working with Media Man agency for both ads and creative campaigns: Media Man Int and Media Man Australia online showcase

Maroubra, Coogee and Bondi media, publicity, advertising and online solutions via Media Man

Eastern Suburbs of Sydney: Media Man online showcase of clients, associates and affiliates

Australian Sports Entertainment website: Advertising, Publicity, Promotions and News Coverage Opportunities

Text link advertising and promotions via Media Man Int, Media Man Australia and Casino News Media

Fintech (Financial Services) media, advertising and exposure opportunities available via Media Man Int and Media Man Australia

News

News media, social media giants and content creators battle for eyeballs, hearts, minds and advertising budgets

News, advertising, media and promotions; Australia-wide and global developments, by Greg Tingle

Bondi Beach App launch party bursts the bubble on Australia's most famous beach, by Greg Tingle - April 2016

Meet up and share your business ideas - 12th September 2017

Apple, Facebook and the dawning of a new age in capitalism - 14th January 2018

Poker and online poker battles for industry supremacy heats up: Poker News Daily vs PokerNews.com on one front; World Series of Poker vs World Poker Tour vs Aussie Millions at Crown Melbourne and other start-ups

Putting a new spin on an old sales pitch

Whitewash whisper leaves Tingle in the ear

Give him a tingle - 15th August 2005

Profiles

Business Advertising Promotions

Get your own website on the air from as little as $450

Includes:

Domain name

Website hosting for 12 months

Consultation

Assistance with About Us and bio pages

Copywriting

Social Media assistance and strategy

Getting your website found by the right audience

Search Engine Optimization, including ways to crack the "top 10"

Media Man has over a decade of experience in the technology, new media, internet and marketing sectors.

Based in Sydney, Australia, with national and international presence.

Some of the brands and entities that Media Man has worked with over the years include Marvel Entertainment, Warner Bros, Richard Bradley Productions, Human Statue Bodyart, Virgin Games, Surf, Dive & Ski, Merivale, IGT, Australian Stunt Academy, 20th Century FOX, Netflix, Ray White, Domain, Golden Breed, Let's Go Surfing, Media Channel, Budde Comm, World Poker Tour, UFC Gym, UFC, partypoker, Bondi Lifeguards, MOJO DownUnder, Hilton Hotel, Hard Rock Cafe and Aquasun.

Read our testimonials here.

For more information contact us.

We recommend web hosting and domain name services from our associates

Amaze