This case examines Meta’s evolving role in political speech and content moderation, tracing its use as a campaign tool in the 2008 U.S. elections to a central actor in democratic processes worldwide. It explores how Meta’s platforms—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and others—have been used to influence elections through targeted advertising, disinformation, etc, and how the company responded with new policies, an independent Oversight Board, and global election integrity operations. The case highlights controversies from the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections, the January 6 Capitol attack, the banning and reinstatement of Donald Trump, as well as Meta’s shifting stance in the 2024 election cycle amid concerns over AI-generated political content.
