SYDNEY, March 18 (Reuters) - Facebook and

Instagram-owner Meta Platforms ( META ) said on Tuesday its

independent fact-checking program in Australia would help detect

and remove false content and deepfakes, as it aims to curb

misinformation ahead of a national election due by May.

In a blog post, the social media company said any content

that could lead to imminent violence and physical harm, and

interfere with voting would be removed, while the distribution

of misleading content through its platforms would be curtailed.

"When content is debunked by fact-checkers, we attach

warning labels to the content and reduce its distribution in

Feed and Explore so it is less likely to be seen," said Cheryl

Seeto, Meta's Head of Policy in Australia.

News agencies Agence France-Presse and the Australian

Associated Press will review the content for Meta, Seeto said.

Meta scrapped its U.S. fact-checking programs in January and

reduced curbs on discussions around contentious topics such as

immigration and gender identity, bowing to pressure from

conservatives to implement the biggest overhaul of its approach

to managing political content on its services.

Besides fake content, social media companies are also

fighting to contain deepfakes - hyper-realistic videos,

photographs or audio generated through AI algorithms that are

presented as real.

Meta said any deepfake content that violates its policies

would be removed, or rated "altered" and then ranked down in its

feed to limit its distribution. Users will also be prompted to

disclose when they post or share AI-generated content.

"For content that doesn't violate our policies, we still

believe it's important for people to know when photorealistic

content they're seeing has been created using AI," Seeto said.

Opinion polls show a close-run election in Australia with

the opposition Liberal-National coalition ahead of the ruling

centre-left Labor party by a narrow margin.

Meta's approach in Australia is consistent with its efforts

to prevent misinformation during the recent elections in India,

Britain and the United States, Seeto said.

Meta is facing multiple regulatory headwinds in Australia

with the government planning to impose a levy on big tech firms

to compensate for advertising revenue they generate from sharing

local news content.

Meta and other social media firms must also enforce a ban

for users under 16 by the end of this year with the companies

consulting the government on how they should roll the

restrictions.