Meta to stop using CrowdTangle, technology for monitoring false information

Researchers are concerned about Meta's decision to end CrowdTangle, a crucial tool for monitoring viral misinformation, ahead of important elections. There will be a void in transparency following the August 14 migration, as its replacement will not have the same capabilities. Monitoring false content on Facebook and Instagram, which are controlled by Meta, has been made possible thanks in large part to CrowdTangle.

CrowdTangle will be unavailable after August 14, less than three months before the US election. The company plans to replace it with a new tool that researchers say lacks the same functions, and which news organizations will largely not have access to.

Meta is set to replace CrowdTangle with a new Content Library, a technology still under development. The tool is said to be not an effective replacement currently, especially in elections likely to see a proliferation of AI-enabled falsehoods. The new tool lacks CrowdTangle features including robust search flexibility and decommissioning it would be a "direct threat" to the integrity of elections.

Meta bought CrowdTangle in 2016 saying that in 2019 elections in Louisiana, the tool helped state officials identify misinformation, such as inaccurate poll hours that had been posted online.  

In the 2020 presidential vote, the company offered the tool to US election officials across all states to help them "quickly identify misinformation, voter interference and suppression."

The tool also made dashboards available to the public to track what major candidates were posting on their official and campaign pages.

Lamenting the risk of losing these functions forever, global nonprofit Mozilla Foundation demanded in an open letter to Meta that CrowdTangle be retained at least until January 2025.