Meta to work with EC in crackdown on misinformation

By Leenah Wahab

Around 60 per cent of complaints filed by the Election Commission have been addressed, Meta said at a post-election briefing recently.

Head of Public Policy Central Asia and Sri Lanka at Meta Senura Abeywardena said Meta is working closely with the Election Commission and has employed two third-party fact-checkers to flag misinformation at a Post-Election Review hosted by think-tank Factum.

Electoral law abuses included the use of pictures of minors, the use of religious places such as temples, and the use of the national flag in marketing campaigns, cases of fear-mongering and paid advertisements on YouTube during the silence period. “Suhara Perera, propagandist of the SLPP falsely claimed in a video that the NPP were preparing for a militant struggle similar to the events of 1988/89 with the support of former armed forces,” he said.
Senior Analyst at the University of Kelaniya, Harindra Dassanayake said the capacity of media conglomerates to influence elections has increased due to the rise of social media and lack of anti-competition laws. “Co-regulation and regulation of digital platforms is essential, and guidelines published under Article 104B(5)(A) of the Constitution need finer definitions, broader coverage and justifiability,” he said.