Meta Shuts Down CrowdTangle: Transparency Concerns Rise as Misinformation Tracking Tool Disappears

Meta Platforms shuts down CrowdTangle, raising concerns about social media transparency. Researchers and journalists protest the loss of this vital tool for tracking misinformation. Meta introduces Content Library as an alternative, but critics argue it falls short of CrowdTangle's capabilities.

Staff Editor August 16, 2024

Meta Platforms Shuts Down CrowdTangle, Sparking Concerns Over Social Media Transparency

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has discontinued CrowdTangle, a widely-used tool for monitoring social media posts. The shutdown has drawn criticism from researchers, watchdogs, and journalists who relied on the platform to track misinformation across Meta’s social networks.

The decision to terminate CrowdTangle has prompted protests from various organizations concerned about the impact on transparency and accountability. In May, dozens of groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, Digital Forensic Research Lab, Human Rights Watch, and NYU’s Center for Social Media & Politics, sent a letter to Meta urging the company to maintain CrowdTangle’s operations through January. The letter emphasized the tool’s crucial role in pre- and post-election oversight and warned that its discontinuation could undermine Meta’s transparency efforts during a critical period.

Similarly, in March, the Mozilla Foundation, along with several dozen groups and individual academic researchers, penned a letter highlighting CrowdTangle’s importance in understanding disinformation, hate speech, and voter suppression on social media platforms.

In response to the shutdown, Meta has introduced the Meta Content Library as an alternative to CrowdTangle. However, access to this new tool is limited to academic researchers and nonprofits, excluding most news organizations. Critics argue that the Meta Content Library falls short of CrowdTangle’s capabilities and effectiveness.

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, addressed these concerns, stating that the company is actively gathering feedback to enhance the Meta Content Library. He emphasized ongoing efforts to make the new tool more user-friendly and effective for researchers.

Meta acquired CrowdTangle in 2016, and its decision to discontinue the service has raised questions about the company’s commitment to transparency and independent research. As the debate continues, stakeholders await further developments and improvements to Meta’s alternative offerings for social media monitoring and analysis.