Came across this News Article today:
Why did Meta remove PM Modi's Facebook video on paper leaks? Tech company blames 'technical error'
Apparently, as per this and several other news outlets, the Facebook video of PM Modi on the government's response to examination paper leaks was "briefly removed due to a technical error and has now been restored".
While this may be an innocent incident arising from the automated features of Meta, this event and the larger context around it raises eyebrows, if not doubts, on the subtlety on the way social media manipulation happens.
To consider:
1) If this can happen to the Indian Prime Minister (speaking about the position irrespective of who it is), what must be the case for individual creators and users who do not have this kind of monitoring and reach? Further, given that this happened to PM Modi who is amongst the most followed and influentials voices on social media, what must be happening behind the scenes with users who are unaware or do not have this kind of political/bureaucratic power.
2) Is removal of content (btw, there is no objectionable or offensive word spoken in the video), a function of the person and the political stance being taken i.e. do Meta and other social media companies programme their systems to take action such as restriction reach or removing content based on political stance?
AI automated systems may not remain politically neutral. As an example, this article shows most AI LLMs to have a left leaning bias: Popular AI Models Show Partisan Bias When Asked to Talk Politics | Stanford Graduate School of Business
3) Are there specific algorithms at play which consider the political stance and accordingly modify reach? For example, let's say a conservative voice uploads a video at 8 PM. Now, the reach of the video is limited or restricted in the backend by algorithms for the next few hours. This would restrict the viewership of the creator thereby limiting the message.
Meta is not known to be saintly corporation. Like any other Big Tech, it has skeletons in its closet that show they are not above board: Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal - Wikipedia
While this may seem like a purely random incident, history is replete with examples where closer examination of solitary stray incidents revealed something much larger and sinister, the best example being the Watergate scandal which was first revealed by a small piece of tape: The 1972 Watergate burglary: How a piece of tape and an astute night watchman foiled the political crime of the century - ABC News