Last week, Facebook announced that it’s shutting down a data tool used by academics, researchers, and journalists to track fake news and misinformation on the platform. Instead, Facebook will create its own version of the tool called the Meta Content Library. However, this tool won’t be available to journalists — and with the company’s decision to shut down CrowdTangle in August, many experts are sounding the alarm about potential ramifications this fall.

In a blog post, CrowdTangle CEO Brandon Silverman called the timing of the decision “incredibly irresponsible,” noting the amount of critical elections happening around the world in a few months.

“Closing down CrowdTangle 12 weeks before the U.S. Presidential election is hard to defend, given… what’s likely to happen this cycle,” he wrote. “CrowdTangle was available not just to academics, fact-checkers, and non-profit researchers but also to the broader news industry. It seems as if that door is being permanently shut to all those partners.”

In addition to serving a smaller group of experts, the Meta Content Library will also likely not be operating at full capacity by this fall. In other words, Facebook may once again be setting itself up for controversy surrounding fake news.

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