Form PX14A6G - Notice of exempt solicitation submitted by non-management
May 23 2024 - 5:14PM
Edgar (US Regulatory)
May 23, 2024
A message to META investors: Vote FOR on Proposal Six “Report
on Generative Artificial Intelligence Misinformation and Disinformation Risks”
Our proposal
requests the Board to issue a report assessing the risks to the Company’s operations and finances,
and to public welfare, presented by the Company’s role in facilitating misinformation and disinformation disseminated or generated
via generative Artificial Intelligence; what steps the Company plans to take to remediate those harms; and how it will measure the effectiveness
of such efforts.
We are particularly concerned given that, in just the
past few weeks, we have documented evidence of the approval of AI generated ads in Meta’s largest market, India, in violation of
the company’s stated
policy1 that it would prioritize the detection
and removal of violative AI generated content, recognizing “the concerns around the misuse of AI-generated content to spread misinformation”.
In a new report2, researchers, in collaboration with India
Civil Watch International, confirmed Meta’s approval of AI-manipulated political ads seeking to spread disinformation and incite
religious violence during India's elections. Between May 8th and May 13th, Meta approved 14 highly inflammatory ads for distribution.
These ads called for violent uprisings targeting Muslim minorities, disseminated blatant disinformation exploiting communal or religious
conspiracy theories prevalent in India's political landscape, and incited violence through Hindu supremacist narratives.
Accompanying each ad text were manipulated images generated by AI image
tools, proving how quickly and easily this new technology can be deployed to amplify harmful content. Meta’s systems also did not
block researchers posting political and incendiary ads during the election “silence period.” The process of setting up the
Facebook accounts was extremely simple and researchers were able to post these ads from outside of India. Researchers pulled the ads before
they were actually viewed by users.
In total, 14 out of 22 ads were approved by Meta within 24 hours; all
of the approved ads broke Meta’s own policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment, misinformation, and violence and incitement
and included:
_____________________________
1 https://about.fb.com/news/2024/03/how-meta-is-preparing-for-indian-general-elections-2024/
2 https://aks3.eko.org/pdf/Meta_AI_ads_investigation.pdf
● Ads targeting BJP opposition parties with messaging on their
alleged Muslim “favoritism,” a popular conspiracy pushed by India’s far-right.
● Ads playing on fears of India being swarmed by Muslim “invaders,”
a popular dog whistle targeting Indian Muslims. One ad claimed that Muslims had attacked India’s Ram temple and that Muslims must
be burned.
● Two ads pushed a ‘stop the steal’ narrative, claiming
electronic voting machines were being destroyed, followed by calls for a violent uprising.
● Multiple ads used Hindu supremacist language to vilify Muslims,
going further with calls for burning Muslims.
● One ad called for the execution of a prominent lawmaker claiming
their allegiance to Pakistan.
● One ad used a conspiracy theory made popular by BJP opposition
parties about a lawmaker removing affirmative action policies for oppressed caste groups.
● Each ad was accompanied by a manipulated image created with
widely used AI image tools Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and Dall-e. For example, Ekō researchers were able to easily generate images
showing a person burning an electronic voting machine, drone footage of immigrants crowding India’s border crossing, as well as
notable Hindu and Muslim places of worship on fire.
The ads were placed in English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, and Kannada.
In light of these current examples of Meta’s
lack of effective AI governance in its largest market, Proposal Six’s request for a report to shareholders on the effectiveness
of the measures the company is taking to address misinformation and disinformation risks, particularly during the 2024 election cycle,
is particularly compelling. As investors, it is essential we have a transparent and accurate view of the enforcement of the company’s
promised safeguards.
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