Meta has officially announced its plan to shut down CrowdTangle, a vital tool for monitoring online content integrity by August 14 2024. In response to Meta's decision, the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has joined a coalition of organizations urging Meta to extend the use of CrowdTangle until January 2025, noting that a shutdown of the tool jeopardizes pre and post-election monitoring efforts in several countries the world over.
CrowdTangle, widely utilized by journalists, fact-checkers and election observers globally, provides real-time transparency into the spread of online content, playing a crucial role in safeguarding civic discourse and democracy.
The coalition, led by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), emphasizes the importance of maintaining CrowdTangle's functionality until an effective replacement is in place. They urge Meta to prioritize onboarding current CrowdTangle users, particularly organizations focused on election integrity, to the new Content Library. Additionally, they call for regular consultations with the global CrowdTangle community to ensure the new tool meets their needs.
"Meta's decision means almost all outside efforts to identify and prevent political disinformation, incitement to violence and online harassment of women and minorities will be silenced. It's a direct threat to our ability to safeguard the integrity of elections," the coalition states.
SLAJ's participation in this global advocacy effort underscores the significance of CrowdTangle for journalists and fact-checkers in Sierra Leone and across the world. As approximately half the world's population prepares to vote in 2024, effective tools like CrowdTangle are essential for tracking political narratives and protecting electoral integrity.
"Access to tools like CrowdTangle is not just about convenience; it's about preserving the integrity of our information space and ultimately our democracy," SLAJ President Ahmed Sahid Nasralla emphasizes
The coalition stresses that real-time transparency in online content dissemination is crucial for safeguarding elections and democracy. They urge Meta to reconsider its decision and ensure that transparency tools like CrowdTangle remain accessible to all who need them.
Other Signatories include Nigeria’s Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Sierra Leone's Search for Common Ground, the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) and Africa Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO).