‘Fundamentally dangerous’: reversal of social media guardrails could prove disastrous for 2024 elections

Scaling back of moderation and rise of AI are creating the perfect storm to weaken elections and democracy

Increasing misinformation on social media, platforms scaling back content moderation and the rise of AI are converging to create a perfect storm for the 2024 elections that some experts warn could put democracy at risk.

YouTube this week reversed its election integrity policy, allowing content contesting the validity of the 2020 elections to remain on the platform. Meta, meanwhile, reinstated the Instagram account of misinformation super spreader Robert F Kennedy Jr and will allow Donald Trump to post again imminently. Twitter has also allowed Trump to return, and has generally seen a rise in the spread of misinformation since billionaire Elon Musk took over the platform last year.