6 in 10 Brits say brands should stop funding social platforms spreading misinformation
Six in 10 (60%) Brits think advertisers should stop funding or severely reduce their investment in tech and social media companies if they continue to allow misinformation to spread on their platforms.
That is one finding from a new survey commissioned by news publishing trade bodies Newsworks and the News Media Association (NMA), conducted by market research company OnePoll.
Social media was singled out by a significant majority of respondents (71%) as the main culprit of the spread of fake news and misinformation, with two-thirds (67%) believing such misinformation directly impacts UK politics.
Nearly eight in 10, meanwhile, said they believe tech companies should be “fined heavily” if they allow fake news on their platforms.
Differing moderation policies
While most social media companies have moderation policies that seek to clamp down on hateful speech and abuse, moderating for misinformation has been a more nuanced process. For example, while Meta has taken down state-sponsored influence operations from the likes of China and Russia, removing all forms of misinformation and disinformation is both challenging and arguably a restriction of free speech.
Meta’s own misinformation policy states that it removes misinformation “where it is likely to directly contribute to the risk of imminent physical harm” or “directly contribute to inference with the functioning of political processes”. However, for all other types of misinformation, Meta says it focuses “on reducing its prevalence or creating an environment that fosters a productive dialogue”.
On the other hand, other influential platforms such as Elon Musk’s X have taken a different tact, generally refusing to moderate misinformation altogether. In fact, Musk has taken to spreading verifiable falsehoods in recent months, including conspiracy theories about the upcoming US presidential election.
X does have policies on taking down or labelling “misleading media” that has been manipulated, altered or fabricated. However, Musk himself has appeared to violate these policies, such as through sharing a fake, AI-generated voiceover of presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
However, from a media buying perspective, Michelle Sarpong, commercial lead at independent media agency the7stars, said reaching audiences ultimately supersedes concerns around funding platforms perceived as spreaders of misinformation.
She told The Media Leader: “Misinformation is undoubtedly a critical issue, fundamentally tied to brand safety, and its damaging effects on society have become increasingly evident in recent years. For advertisers, brand safety remains a key focus, with the expectation that platforms will adopt stricter measures to address issues such as misinformation.
“However, advertisers must prioritise the audience and what platforms they are engaging with. Therefore any decline in investment will likely require a corresponding decrease in audience engagement.”
Importance of journalism highlighted
The Newsworks/NMA survey, which polled a representative sample of 2,000 Brits to coincide with this week’s Journalism Matters week, also found that an overwhelming majority (76%) agree that the role of journalism today matters “more than ever”.
Reasons cited include the spread of fake news and misinformation, the need to hold the new government to account and a “devolution agenda” transferring powers outside London, requiring more scrutiny at the local level.
“It is really encouraging to see that most people in the UK understand and value the important role journalism plays in all our lives,” said Newsworks CEO Jo Allan. “In a year where politics has dominated the domestic and international agenda, journalism continues to play a crucial role in holding those in power to account. And, of course, against a backdrop of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, trusted journalism matters to people more than ever before.”
NMA chief executive Owen Meredith has repeatedly warned against the dominance of Big Tech. In an episode of The Media Leader Podcast last month, he admitted that news publishers have become too reliant on social platforms, which have increasingly instituted “take-it-or-leave-it terms and who can make a tweak to an algorithm and suddenly see your traffic switch off overnight”.
In an open letter published on Monday, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government would seek to “rebalance the relationship between [social] platforms and those, such as publishers, who rely on them” through the ongoing implementation of the Digital Markets and Consumers Act.
He further warned that the UK “must remain vigilant that the growing power of digital technology does not begin to chip away at [press freedoms]”.
Are news outlets too dependent on social media? With NMA CEO Owen Meredith