Facebook, Twitter Outpaced By Smaller Platforms In Fight Against Harmful Content - Agency

Facebook, Twitter, and Alphabet’s YouTube made smaller strides than their social media rivals including TikTok and Reddit at battling harmful content such as hate speech and misinformation during the second half of 2020, a study released on Monday showed. Advertising agency IPG Mediabrands released its “Media Responsibility Index,” examining how the top social media platforms performed in 10 areas including protecting children’s wellbeing, providing more transparency for advertisers, and combating misinformation and disinformation.

Mediabrands said the American Association of Advertising Agencies has adopted its 10 principles on media responsibility. Nine social media platforms agreed to participate in the new index. Mediabrands said it saw improvements industry-wide from the first half of 2020. Facebook showed improvements in clamping down on false and misleading content, such as removing pages and groups related to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

YouTube made no significant changes to misinformation policies, leading to a lower score in the category. However the platform did focus more on efforts like improving children’s wellbeing, which led to a bigger advancement in the category than peers, Mediabrands said.