Alleged Audio Call to Rig Elections in Iraqi Kurdistan

Description du cas

To read this announcement in Sorani Kurdish, click here.

Over a week before the parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan on October 20, 2024, a prominent local media outlet posted an audio clip on its Facebook page. Lasting for nearly two minutes, the clip sounds like a phone conversation between two people and is overlaid with images of Bafel Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party, and his brother, Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and also a PUK member. The post’s caption states that the clip is a “recorded conversation” between the brothers about “rigging the elections” and “their sinister plans” for the Kurdistan region. According to reporting, the media outlet that posted the clip is affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – the other main political party in the region. There are few politically independent news sources in Iraqi Kurdistan, with most media outlets closely linked to political parties.

The audio has an English voiceover (English is audible, the original audio is not), with Kurdish and English subtitles. In a blunt conversation about the forthcoming election, one man states they have been guaranteed a “minimum of 30 seats” so they don’t need anyone’s votes. He also mentions “get[ting] rid” of the “11 seats” the KDP allegedly “has always been using to their advantage.”  He says they will “give them a taste of their own medicine.” The other man agrees but emphasizes the need to show that those seats have been legitimately won, since the other party knows they are getting help with the elections from Baghdad and their “neighbor,” though they cannot prove this. The media outlet’s account where the content was posted has about 4,000,000 followers.

A user reported this post under Meta’s Misinformation Community Standard but the company kept up the post on Facebook. Meta told the Board it had added a label indicating the content may be digitally created or altered to seem real on other similar and viral posts including the original audio clip, in line with the company’s approach to labeling manipulated media. Following an assessment provided to Meta by a media agency based outside Kurdistan, the company had determined the audio was likely digitally created or altered due to the stilted nature of the conversation and the absence of conversational beats (usually heard in natural speech). Meta also consulted a Trusted Partner that found strong technical and contextual signals to suggest the audio was digitally created. Meta added that it did not add the label on all posts containing the audio clip to avoid the risk of false positives (mistaken labeling of content debunking the audio), and this is likely why the post in this case was kept up without such a label. Meta also informed the Board that a translation of the label is not available in Kurdish.

The user who reported the post appealed Meta’s decision to leave it up on Facebook. When this was unsuccessful, they appealed to the Board, stating that the audio is AI-generated, shared during a “sensitive” election campaign and is being used to “damage a party’s reputation.” The media outlet that posted the content also submitted a statement to the Board, explaining they shared the audio as part of their news coverage, “without offering any opinions or commentary on the content itself,” and rather, “simply as a local news item.” The media outlet stated the audio was released by a political party and that its goal is to publish “accurate” news.

The Board selected this case to address the issue of moderating possibly false information and likely manipulated media in the context of elections. This case provides an opportunity to evaluate Meta’s approach to posts that may contain false allegations, especially when the content may have been digitally created or altered. This case falls within the Board’s Elections and Civic Space strategic priority.

The Board would appreciate public comments that address:

• The sociopolitical context in Iraqi Kurdistan, particularly around the October 2024 elections and the role that misinformation, propaganda and manipulated media played.
• The relationship of media institutions in Iraqi Kurdistan with politicians and political parties.
• The impact of manipulated and misleading content in Iraq and more broadly on access to information and participation in public life.
• The risks of overenforcement on alleged manipulated media and the potential negative impacts on the free expression rights of speakers and listeners.
• Research on the most effective approaches to addressing the harms from manipulated media in the context of elections.

As part of its decisions, the Board can issue policy recommendations to Meta. While recommendations are not binding, Meta must respond to them within 60 days. As such, the Board welcomes public comments proposing recommendations that are relevant to this case.

Public Comments

If you or your organization feel you can contribute valuable perspectives that can help with reaching a decision on the case announced today, you can submit your contributions using the button below. Please note that public comments can be provided anonymously. The public comment window is open for 14 days, closing at 23.59 Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Thursday 13 March.

What’s Next 

Over the next few weeks, Board Members will be deliberating this case. Once they have reached their decision, we will post it on the Decisions page.