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New Delhi: On January 7, 2025, Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta’s shift from fact-checking content by third parties to a community-driven moderation system similar to X.
Global implementation of the new content moderation policy will depend on local laws and cultural nuances.
According to reports, Meta’s decision to abandon fact-checkers has prompted a viral surge in Google searches for deleting Instagram, Facebook, and Threads as the lack of content moderation on Meta’s platforms has gotten parents in the US worried about the kind of content their wards will be exposed to.
However, it’s not just the parents who are worried; brands are also facing a heightened risk of their ads appearing alongside objectionable or harmful content.
With less content being filtered, brands face a heightened risk of their ads appearing alongside objectionable or harmful content. Association with controversial or offensive content could negatively impact a brand's image and alienate consumers. It is to be noted that Elon Musk's similar move towards a more hands-off approach to content moderation on X triggered an advertiser exodus.
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Shedding light on the risks for brands in a digital world without moderation, Alka Vij, Director at Hashtag Orange, said, “For advertisers, the risks of being placed next to unmoderated content are significant, especially in India, where cultural sensitivities are high and consumers are quick to voice concerns on social media. If a brand is found promoting or appearing alongside offensive or misleading content, it can erode consumer confidence, leading to a decline in customer loyalty and sales.
In India, stricter digital content regulations pose legal risks for brands, potentially leading to penalties if they advertise on platforms hosting harmful or illegal content. Lastly, if an ad is placed alongside low-quality or irrelevant content, it may not resonate with the intended audience, leading to lower engagement rates and suboptimal returns on ad spend.”
The stakes for brands are high, and the risks are monumental, raising the question of whether brands will slowly roll back their advertising efforts on Meta’s platforms or if they are too big to fail.
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Delphin Varghese, Co-founder & Chief Revenue Officer at AdCounty Media, feels that the monopoly of Meta is so pronounced that advertisers may take a more measured and phased strategy by cutting down their expenditures or reallocating channels instead of leaving Meta.
“While Meta offers a huge customer base and potential return on investment, increasing risks may push brands toward other platforms,” he added.
It is important to note that Meta has removed third-party fact-checkers only in the U.S., so Vij feels that “speculating the same for the Indian market may not be right.”
“Further, since the platform values ad revenue, Meta will likely roll out advanced ad features focused on brand safety, such as granular ad controls and better transparency tools, to reassure advertisers and address concerns about harmful content appearing alongside ads,” Vij (Hashtag Orange) further added.
If the going gets tough, how will the tough get going for advertisers?
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For starters, “Advertisers can reduce the associated risks by targeting very specific audiences, using ad controls to limit where and when ads and brands appear alongside content, and constantly tracking how effective every ad is,” said Prady Kumaar, CEO and Co-Founder of NP Digital India.
Suggesting additional strategies, Vij said, “Brands can continuously reposition ads using dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) tools, allowing advertisers to test and adjust their messaging in real-time based on performance data.
A balanced approach combines precise targeting with active content monitoring. By leveraging third-party brand safety tools and staying updated on platform changes, advertisers can better safeguard their campaigns. Staying agile is crucial.”
To keep themselves from harm’s way, Varghese recommends brands create exclusion lists. In simple terms, an exclusion list is a list of content creators and communities that may pose a risk to the brand image if the brand’s content is positioned there.
Expanding on his thought, Varghese further said, “Advertisers may employ artificial intelligence-enabled monitoring tools, compile exclusion lists, and employ dynamic creative optimisation to alter their advertisements at will. Moreover, brands can control the number of unsolicited ads through audits and by integrating contextual advertising strategies.”
No matter the number of steps brands take to ensure the right positioning of their content. There will be misfires, so Vij suggests brands keep a crisis management plan handy.
Constant repositioning and self-moderation of content by brands will surely impact brands, but the question is how?
Weighing in on the “how” part, Varghese said, “ROI can be expected to decrease sometimes due to the caution taken in employing any advertising measures.”
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Supplementing Varghese, Saylee Pawar, media manager at BC Web Wise, said, “In order to automate ad monitoring, advertisers may need to spend money and time on more regular campaign evaluations and third-party technologies. Additionally, this will take longer and require additional manual checks, increasing costs.”
To wrap it up in the words of Pawar, “While Meta's decision to reduce third-party fact-checking could present challenges, its dominant position in the digital advertising market means it’s not easy for advertisers to walk away completely.
Using brand safety tools provided by Meta to exclude certain categories of content, leveraging keyword targeting and content-blocking filters, and reviewing content placement can help advertisers mitigate this situation effectively.”