Deepfakes that defame political opponents and calls to vote on platforms where political advertising is officially banned: in the super election year of 2024, several instances showed that major digital platforms are not doing enough to combat misinformation and disinformation, despite having announced relevant policies. This is the conclusion of the second CoP Monitor published by the German-Austrian Digital Media Observatory (GADMO). This year’s report focuses on the European elections as well as the German state elections in Saxony and Thuringia in 2024, examining the effectiveness of measures taken by Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok to counter politically motivated disinformation in German-speaking regions.
The GADMO research team, led by Dr. Susanne Wegner from TU Dortmund University, evaluated the platforms’ commitments under the Code of Practice (CoP) and compared them with actual cases of disinformation identified by GADMO fact-checking organisations CORRECTIV, dpa, AFP, and APA. In parallel, a seminar project at the Institute of Journalism at TU Dortmund University analysed the overall strategies of the social media activities of the six major parties and their leading candidates to understand their approaches to election campaigning.
The report reveals: Despite clear progress by platforms – including policies on collaborating with fact-checkers and labeling AI-generated content – significant challenges persist. “The effectiveness of these measures is particularly limited during election campaigns, likely because the platforms’ efforts are hindered by underlying structural issues,” explains research leader Dr. Susanne Wegner.