The independent Meta Oversight Board has called on the social media giant to reassess its policy on manipulated media in light of the upcoming 2024 elections.

The board, which operates separately from Meta and is funded by a company grant, criticized the current policy as inconsistent, lacking in compelling rationale, and overly focused on the creation process of content rather than the potential harm it could cause.

Review of Meta’s Decision on Doctored Biden Video

The board’s recommendation was part of its review of Meta’s decision to not remove a doctored video of President Biden on Facebook, which was edited to falsely depict him inappropriately touching his granddaughter.

The board upheld Meta’s decision, stating that the video did not breach the company’s manipulated media policy as it only applies to videos created with artificial intelligence (AI) that depict individuals saying things they did not say.

The board pointed out that the video was not altered using AI and showed President Biden doing something he did not do, rather than saying something he didn’t say, hence it did not violate the existing policy. The board also noted that the video’s alteration was evident and unlikely to deceive the average user about its authenticity, a key factor in Meta’s definition of manipulated media.

However, the board argued that the current policy is too restrictive and should be expanded to include audio and audiovisual content, content that falsely depicts individuals doing things they did not do, and content irrespective of its creation method.

The board also suggested that Meta should stop removing manipulated content when there are no other policy breaches, and instead label such content as “significantly altered and potentially misleading.”

Read more at The Hill.