[9] Without CrowdTangle, researchers’ ability to identify and alert others about mis/ disinformation, imminent threats to public officials or elections, or terrorist groups organizing on the platforms will be significantly diminished. At the moment, the Meta Content Library significantly restricts or gatekeeps data access and downloads from its database. For instance, the Meta Content Library does not include any aggregation of overall trends of a keyword or phrase, something that is available in CrowdTangle. Moreover, depending on the specific query, the Meta Content Library may also only return a sample of potential matching content rather than all the matching results. ■ Restrictive application requirements: The Meta Content Library requires applying on an individual project basis, whereas CrowdTangle allows access at an organizational level.

Source: New York Times May 15, 2024 14:13 UTC