Content run amok

Hi everyone, it’s Aisha in San Francisco. Social media platforms gave up on content moderation a long time ago. But first…Three things you n [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi everyone, it’s Aisha in San Francisco. Social media platforms gave up on content moderation a long time ago. But first… Three things you need to know today: • SoftBank announced a $3.4 billion buyback as it [hunts for AI deals]( • Turkey blocked Roblox, alleging it [may lead to child abuse]( • Warner Bros. said CNN and TNT aren’t what they [used to be]( Changing priorities It’s been more than a week since riots first erupted in the UK and [misinformation]( about a fatal stabbing killing three children circulated across TikTok, X and other social media sites. The UK telecommunications regulator has urged the companies to take action to stop people from using their platforms to incite violence. Despite the real-world consequences, there has been radio silence from the social media giants. We’ve seen this play out before: when violent mobs organized on Facebook leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, [insurrection]( at the US Capitol; when doctored images and videos of the [Israel-Hamas]( war went viral on X and TikTok; and just a few weeks ago when unfounded claims about the [assassination attempt]( against former President Donald Trump garnered millions of views across social media. In each of these cases, by the time the platforms labeled or removed the misleading images, posts and videos, the damage was done. We’re in an era where social media companies seem to be placing less and less importance on cleaning up their sites. They’re [rolling back policies]( intended to curb misinformation or [de-emphasizing news]( altogether. They’re locking out researchers who focus on catching and dispelling false information and firing employees who oversee content safety. To put it plainly, social media platforms simply [aren’t prioritizing content moderation]( anymore. Read More: [Fight Against Misinformation Suffers Multiple Losses]( Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of tech employees tasked with overseeing content safety, election integrity and misinformation at companies like Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, Snap Inc. and Google’s YouTube, were in San Francisco for the annual TrustCon conference. Several of those employees, called trust and safety professionals, told me they simply didn’t have the time or resources to police the billions of misleading or false posts created by social media users. Third-party organizations that attempt to help with this work, such as the Meta-funded Oversight Board, the Stanford Internet Observatory (which was recently [dismantled]( or independent researchers, rely on the platforms to hand over data about the misleading content on their sites – data they’re increasingly not sharing. Twitter, now X, which was long used by researchers to study misinformation, [removed free access]( to its data, TikTok has made it [nearly impossible]( for researchers to study the platform and Meta [pulled support for CrowdTangle]( a tool used to identify false information online. There’s also been the slow repeal of election policies: YouTube [stopped removing]( content denying the US 2020 election results, Meta eased [restrictions]( on Trump’s account put in place after the Jan 6. attack and X [dismantled]( its election integrity team while bringing back political ads. As social media platforms shy away from content safety and election integrity, employees who work in those departments say they’re fighting an uphill battle to convince leaders about the value of removing harmful content online. Without serious investment and robust teams, there simply isn’t enough manpower to stop the swell of misinformation. If the Jan. 6 insurrection, Israel-Hamas war or UK riots are any indicator of how social media platforms will handle a conflict during the US presidential election, we shouldn’t expect much. Based on the public response so far, they’ll be taking a hands-off approach.—[Aisha Counts](mailto:acounts3@bloomberg.net) The big story Big Tech’s earnings have disappointed investors the past few weeks, but one area has [sidestepped the gloom — the gig economy]( Uber Technologies Inc., DoorDash Inc., Instacart and Grubhub parent Just Eat Takeaway.com NV have all notched double-digit growth across many of their most important metrics. The results serve as a broad counterpoint to fears that US consumer spending is softening. One to watch [Lyft CEO David Risher is interviewed on Bloomberg Television about the company’s earnings and Wall Street’s disappointment with the results.]( Get fully charged Bumble plunged after the dating app slashed its [revenue outlook](. Lumen Technologies bonds jumped alongside a major [stock rise](. Chip gear provider Tokyo Electron raised its outlook after [growing sales substantially.]( SpaceX may take the US astronauts stuck on the Space Station home if their original Boeing craft continues [to have problems](. Micron said it would resume buybacks that the chipmaker [suspended in 2022](. More from Bloomberg Bloomberg Tech: Humanity has always relied on technology to drive growth. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, tech companies will affect the economy, media and health like never before. Join executives, investors and business leaders in London on Oct. 22 to discuss the risks and rewards of this new age. [Buy tickets today](. 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