Charities have been encouraged to plan for handling misinformation on social media after recently announced changes to fact-checking policies on Facebook and Instagram.
Charity Comms published its guidance this week after Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company’s two largest social media platforms would stop using third-party fact-checkers.
The membership body for charity communications professionals advised that “while Meta users will now be empowered to correct hate speech and misinformation themselves, charity community managers will need to weigh in to protect the people that our organisations serve”.
Meanwhile, several more charities have announced their departures from X, formerly known as Twitter, with some noting an increasingly “hostile” environment on the platform since Elon Musk purchased it.
Also this week, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey pledged to donate to a BBC charity that trains journalists to tackle misinformation.
Charities told to prioritise community management
Charity Comms advised charities to produce guidelines for regulating content; develop a consistent process for handling misinformation and complaints; utilise strong crisis comms planning procedures, and prioritise community management.
The guidelines state “It’s not just about mitigating risk.
“Good community management can help you grow your following because it encourages conversation and connection to a cause.
“Get it right and the algorithm will reward you with impressions and engagements.”
More charities annoucing they will leave X
Several more charities have announced their decisions to leave X in recent weeks.
Rape Crisis South London announced last week that it plans to leave immediately as “it no longer reflects the principles that guide our work”.
Social entrepreneurship charity UnLtd announced on Monday that it would leave the platform from 3 February due to concerns about “harmful content, decreased transparency and actions that may undermine safe, inclusive online spaces”.
Also on Monday, Scottish equality charity Equality Network also announced its imminent exit, citing the increasingly “hostile” environment of X since Musk's acquisition of the site.
These departures follow other sector organisations such as charity leader membership body ACEVO and the Race Equality Foundation leaving last year.
Recent research has shown that growing numbers of social justice charities are considering leaving X due to “misinformation” concerns, with some opting for alternative social media platforms like Bluesky.
Twitter founder donates to BBC charity
On Tuesday, Jack Dorsey, who co-founded the platform now called X as Twitter in 2006 and served as its CEO until 2021, announced a $750,000 donation to a BBC charity that trains journalists to tackle misinformation.
The donation will “support BBC Media Action’s Pursuit of Truth initiative to support the young journalists of tomorrow, and will enable the charity to invest in its bold new global strategy tackling division, distrust and disinformation through support for independent, trustworthy media”.
Founded by the BBC World Service in 1999, BBC Media Action promotes independent media in 30 countries across the world.
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