By Barbara Ortutay, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has shut down CrowdTangle, a tool widely used by researchers, watchdog organizations and journalists to monitor social media posts, notably to track how misinformation spreads on the company’s platforms.
Wednesday’s shutdown, which Meta announced earlier this year, has been protested by researchers and nonprofits. In May, dozens of groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, Human Rights Watch and NYU’s Center for Social Media & Politics, sent a letter to the company asking that it keep the tool running through at least January so it would be available through the U.S. presidential elections.
“This decision jeopardizes essential pre- and post-election oversight mechanisms and undermines Meta’s transparency efforts during this critical period, and at a time when social trust and digital democracy are alarmingly fragile,” the letter said.
CrowdTangle, “has been an essential tool in helping researchers parse through the vast amount of information on the platform and identify harmful content and threats,” it added.
In March, the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation sent Meta a similar letter asking it to keep the tool, which was available for free, functioning until January. That letter was also signed by several dozen groups and individual academic researchers.
“For years, CrowdTangle has represented an industry best practice for real-time platform transparency. It has become a lifeline for understanding how disinformation, hate speech, and voter suppression spread on Facebook, undermining civic discourse and democracy,” the Mozilla letter said.
Meta has released an alternative to CrowdTangle, called the Meta Content Library. But access to it is limited to academic researchers and nonprofits, which excludes most news organizations. Critics have also complained that it’s not as useful as CrowdTangle — at least not yet.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said in a blog post last week that the company has been gathering feedback about Meta Content Library from “hundreds of researchers in order to make it more user-friendly and help them find the data they need for their work.”
Meta acquired CrowdTangle in 2016.
Sevasti Buford joins JOJX as EP and partner
LOS ANGELES--JOJX has added Sevasti Buford as executive producer and partner. With an extensive background in representing and nurturing directing talent, Buford brings experience, strategic insight, and a fresh creative perspective to the leadership team. “What drew me to this role was the level of trust and shared vision I have with my partners, [JOJX co-founders] Joe Care and Jackson Morton,” Buford said. “We’ve supported each other for over a decade, even as competitors, and now, aligning our expertise feels like the perfect move forward. Our unified approach--with Joe’s production acumen, Jackson’s creative direction, and my background in sales and strategy--creates a well-balanced forward-thinking team that’s looking ahead. It’s been a joy to have fun in between the mental gymnastics that goes into a winning pitch!” Buford’s appointment marks a significant step in JOJX’s evolution, particularly in its commitment to prioritizing diversity and inclusion. As the first female partner at JOJX, she is already making strides in bringing more female talent to the forefront, with her first signing being director Madeline Clayton. Buford joins JOJX from Stink Films, where she was head of sales for over six years. During her tenure at Stink, Buford played a pivotal role in the development and success of numerous directors. Her eye for talent and commitment to fostering female representation both in front of and behind the camera has been a defining aspect of her career. Buford has been instrumental in introducing emerging directors like Loose, Felix Brady, and Douglas Bernardt to the U.S. market, helping them gain traction and establish their voices within the industry. Her work has contributed to the winning of numerous... Read More