Bucharest, December 9: Meta Platforms Inc., owned by Mark Zuckerberg, reportedly allowed a network of Facebook pages to post over 4,100 political ads attacking Romania’s pro-EU presidential candidate Elena Lasconi. The platform also promoted far-right figures like Calin Georgescu during the country’s elections.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the campaign was run on 25 separate Facebook pages for entities with website share hosting, advertising, and email infrastructure. It indicated an organisation’s effort to influence the election. The report highlighted that it was not clear who was behind the network. OpenAI Seeks To Unlock Investment by Removing ‘AGI’ Clause With Microsoft: Report.
It said that the network boosted political posts on Facebook and Instagram and spent around 264.909 euros (around USD 279.25). Romania’s now-cancelled November 24 presidential election sparked intense scrutiny of social media platforms. The country’s authorities targeted ByteDance-owned TikTok and accused it of providing “massive exposure and preferential treatment” to the previously little-known nationalist candidate.
Romania’s top court annulled that the first round of vote was followed, alleging that Russia meddled in the election. The report mentioned that the step was taken after the release of declassified documents from the country’s intelligence service, revealing how Georgescu’s campaign, fueled by TikTok, may have been coordinated by foreign “state actors.” Moscow has denied any interference. OpenAI Sora 2 Footage Leaked Online Showing 1-Minute Long AI Video Generation Capability, Expected Next Week
TikTok was primarily accused of amplifying the disinformation during the Romanian election campaign; however, new evidence suggested that Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, were also involved in spreading political messaging, divisive narratives and unverified claims. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta declined to comment on the findings of the report and pointed to statements by Nick Clegg, who is president of global affairs.
(The above story first appeared on Fresh Headline on Dec 09, 2024 12:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website freshheadline.com).
Leave a Reply