On Wednesday, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shut down CrowdTangle, a social media analysis tool used for monitoring trending posts on Facebook and Instagram. CrowdTangle helped journalists and researchers analyze user engagement, identify key drivers of content spread, and track the virality of political and medical misinformation on social media platforms, as reported by Bloomberg. According to the report, in July, a bipartisan group of lawmakers requested that CEO Mark Zuckerberg delay CrowdTangle’s shutdown by six months, emphasizing the need for continued access to study the impact of platforms and their ...