Four years ago, ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Meta was in a different place. Its name was Facebook. Its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, was donating hundreds of millions of dollars to election integrity efforts. Its outsized role in the 2016 U.S. presidential loomed ahead of another moment in the spotlight. And within months, it would suspend the sitting president’s account.
Today, weeks before election day 2024, Meta is hardly factoring in the political conversation. It’s de-emphasized politics on its properties and ceded that game to TikTok and X. Facebook and Instagram are recommending far less political content, Whatsapp isn’t a political force in the U.S.