A highlight of the annual White House correspondence dinner on Saturday evening was the string of jibes by the US President against his political opponent Donald Trump. This will be Biden's last White House correspondence dinner before the elections. Watch in for more details!

US Elections 2024: Biden delivers Election-year roast, slams GOP rival Trump's immaturity

In a move experts have labelled "a grave step backwards", Facebook owner Meta has decided to decommission CrowdTangle, a vital digital tool for tracking viral falsehoods.

The move which is scheduled to take effect on August 14, as per experts, will disrupt efforts to detect political misinformation in a major election year.

<h2>What is CrowdTangle?</h2>

CrowdTangle, as per an AFP report, is a game-changing tool which for years has offered researchers and journalists crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech on Meta-owned platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. &nbsp;

The monitoring tool, as per reports, will be replaced by another tool which researchers say&nbsp;lacks the same functionality and that news organisations will largely not have access to.

CrowdTangle will be replaced by a new Content Library, a technology still under development.

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The tool, as per tech industry experts, including former CrowdTangle chief executive Brandon Silverman, is currently not an effective replacement, especially in a year when world-over elections are likely to see a proliferation of AI-enabled falsehoods.

While Meta claims that the Content Library will contain more comprehensive data than CrowdTangle and will be available to academics and non-profit election integrity experts, concerns remain about access for independent researchers and journalists.&nbsp;

However, Meta has announced that the new tool will not be accessible&nbsp;for-profit media. This has raised questions about transparency and accountability.

<h2>What the experts say</h2>

This move comes just three months before the 2024 US Presidential election that will see incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump face off. Not only that, globally,&nbsp;dozens of countries&nbsp;will hold elections this year.

"In a year when almost half of the global population is expected to vote in elections, cutting off access to CrowdTangle will severely limit independent oversight of harms," warned Melanie Smith, director of research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.&nbsp;

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"It represents a grave step backwards for social media platform transparency," she said.

Historically, CrowdTangle has alerted researchers about harmful activities such as foreign interference, online harassment, and incitements to violence. It played an important role in quickly identifying "misinformation, voter interference and suppression," during the 2020 US elections.

Global non-profit Mozilla Foundation, along with dozens of technology watchdogs and researchers, has urged Meta to retain CrowdTangle until at least January 2025, citing concerns about the new tool's limitations.&nbsp;

"Abandoning CrowdTangle while the Content Library lacks so much of CrowdTangle's core functionality undermines the fundamental principle of transparency," said the letter.

However, defending the decision, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that the Content Library will offer "more comprehensive data than CrowdTangle" and will be accessible to academics and non-profit election integrity experts.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

In a move experts have labelled "a grave step backwards", Facebook owner Meta has decided to decommission CrowdTangle, a vital digital tool for tracking viral falsehoods.

In a move experts have labelled "a grave step backwards", Facebook owner Meta has decided to decommission CrowdTangle, a vital digital tool for tracking viral falsehoods. The move which is scheduled to take effect on August 14, as per experts, will disrupt efforts to detect political misinformation in a major election year. What is CrowdTangle? CrowdTangle, as per an AFP report, is a game-changing tool which for years has offered researchers and journalists crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech on Meta-owned platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The monitoring tool, as per reports, will be replaced by another tool which researchers say lacks the same functionality and that news organisations will largely not have access to. CrowdTangle will be replaced by a new Content Library, a technology still under development. Also read | New study reveals AI's hidden bias in screening depression in Black people The tool, as per tech industry experts, including former CrowdTangle chief executive Brandon Silverman, is currently not an effective replacement, especially in a year when world-over elections are likely to see a proliferation of AI-enabled falsehoods. While Meta claims that the Content Library will contain more comprehensive data than CrowdTangle and will be available to academics and non-profit election integrity experts, concerns remain about access for independent researchers and journalists. However, Meta has announced that the new tool will not be accessible for-profit media. This has raised questions about transparency and accountability. What the experts say This move comes just three months before the 2024 US Presidential election that will see incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump face off. Not only that, globally, dozens of countries will hold elections this year. "In a year when almost half of the global population is expected to vote in elections, cutting off access to CrowdTangle will severely limit independent oversight of harms," warned Melanie Smith, director of research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Also read | Elon Musk’s X mulling allowing ‘adult content’ in restricted communities "It represents a grave step backwards for social media platform transparency," she said. Historically, CrowdTangle has alerted researchers about harmful activities such as foreign interference, online harassment, and incitements to violence. It played an important role in quickly identifying "misinformation, voter interference and suppression," during the 2020 US elections. Global non-profit Mozilla Foundation, along with dozens of technology watchdogs and researchers, has urged Meta to retain CrowdTangle until at least January 2025, citing concerns about the new tool's limitations. "Abandoning CrowdTangle while the Content Library lacks so much of CrowdTangle's core functionality undermines the fundamental principle of transparency," said the letter. However, defending the decision, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that the Content Library will offer "more comprehensive data than CrowdTangle" and will be accessible to academics and non-profit election integrity experts. (With inputs from agencies)

'A grave step backwards': Meta to scrap misinformation monitoring tool CrowdTangle ahead of 2024 US elections

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