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How Meta Brings in Millions Off Political Violence
CalMatters and The Markup used Facebook’s AI model to count the millions of dollars it makes after violent news events
“Our effort is directed to encouraging pro-Israel Americans to stand with our democratic ally as it battles Iranian proxies in the aftermath of the barbaric Hamas attack of October 7th,” Marshall Wittmann, a spokesperson for AIPAC, said in an emailed statement. Caption: CalMatters and The Markup found that gun advocates used the presidential assassination attempt to promote products and services on Facebook, including this advertisement for a firearms safety course.Credit:CalMatters and The MarkupMost of those ads did not appear to violate Meta’s policies, although some may have broken its ban against showing weapons while alleging “election-related corruption.” But even the ones that didn’t clearly violate Meta’s rules still place the company in an uncomfortable position, as the business takes in advertising dollars from posts tied to grim news cycles. Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization, said “it’s not a surprise” that ads around political violence would pop up after incidents “if Meta is not making any effort even on a good day to effectively enforce their policies.”
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