Meta owns social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram
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In 2024, Meta allowed more than 3,300 pornographic ads — many featuring AI-generated content — on its social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
The results come from A a report by Artificial intelligence in forensicsa European non-profit organization focused on investigating technology platform algorithms. Researchers also discovered inconsistency in Meta’s content moderation policies by re-uploading many of the same explicit images as standard posts on Instagram and Facebook. Unlike ads, these posts were quickly removed for violating meta Community standards.
“I’m disappointed and not surprised by the report, given that my research has already exposed double standards in content moderation, particularly in areas of sexual content,” he says. Carolina is At Northumbria University’s Center for Digital Citizens in the UK.
The AI Forensics report focused on a small sample of ads targeting the EU. It found that the explicit advertising permitted by Meta primarily targeted middle-aged and older men with promotions for “questionable sexual enhancement products” and “dating sites,” with a total reach of more than 8.2 million impressions.
Ari says this leniency reflects a broader double standard in content moderation. She says tech platforms often ban content submitted by “women, feminist presenters, and LGBTQIA+ users.” This double standard extends to male and female sexual health. “An example of this is underwear and menstrual-related advertisements [removed] Of Meta, while Viagra ads were approved.
In addition to finding AI-generated images in ads, the AI Forensics team also discovered audio deepfakes: in some sex-enhancing drug ads, for example, pornographic images were overlaid with the digitally manipulated voice of actor Vincent Cassel.
“Meta prohibits the display of nudity or sexual activity in ads or organic posts on our platforms, and we remove violating content that is shared with us,” a Meta spokesperson says. “Bad actors are constantly evolving their tactics to avoid enforcement, which is why we continue to invest in the best tools and technology to help identify and remove violating content.”
The report coincides with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that the company will ditch its fact-checking teams in favor of collective community feedback.
“If we want to sound really miserable — and at this point, given Zuckerberg’s recent decision to remove fact-checkers, I think we have reason to — we could even say that Meta is quick to strip individual and marginalized users of their agency as it is,” Ari says. Money from questionable advertising.”
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