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Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Media Ratings Council (MRC,) which has for decades acted as the de facto watchdog for the media and advertising industries, announced accreditation for the first of three rounds of audits that Facebook has committed to. This audit focused on its ability to report impressions served on Facebook and Instagram.

Why it matters: There's been mounting pressure for the "walled gardens" or major tech platforms to be audited by the MRC, the same way other major players in the advertising ecosystem, like Nielsen, comScore and many of the big TV networks are audited. Social networks like Facebook, Google and Twitter are finally beginning to come around to such audits, in an attempt to build better rapport with marketers looking for transparency.

The company previously agreed to an audit after several instances of Facebook misreporting data to publishing partners were revealed. For example, Facebook apologized in September 2016 for inflating video engagement metrics up to 60% for two years.

On its website, the MRC writes that Facebook and Instagram have been granted accreditation to News Feed served ad impressions in desktop, mobile web, and mobile app.

What's next? The second audit on view-ability integrations is underway. The third on two-second buying has not yet begun.

“We recognize the industry's desire for more independent third-party validation, so this is welcome progress. We look forward to continuing our verification work with the MRC.”
— Facebook VP of Marketing Science, Brad Smallwood

Our thought bubble: These audits take a very long time because they are extremely thorough and carried out by a small but efficient team of experts at the MRC. It might not for some time until Facebook completes the rest of its audits but for now, an audit around metrics is a good start.

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Team USA's Simone Biles watching the women's uneven bars final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

🚨: Simone Biles will compete in her final Olympic event

⚽: U.S. women's soccer team falls to Canada in semifinals, ending chances at gold

🏋️‍♀️: Laurel Hubbard becomes first openly trans woman to compete at Olympics

🤸: U.S. gymnast Jade Carey wins Olympic gold in floor exercise final

🪧: IOC "looking into" American Raven Saunders' Olympic podium protest gesture

📷In photos: Day 10 Olympics highlights

🏳️‍⚧️: Axios at the Olympics: Games grapple with trans athletesTrans athletes see the Tokyo Games as a watershed moment

Go deeper: Full Axios coverage

Updated 2 hours ago - Sports

Laurel Hubbard becomes first openly trans woman to compete at Olympics

Laurel Hubbard. Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov\TASS via Getty Images

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard made history on Monday as the first openly transgender female athlete to compete at the Olympics.

Why it matters: The presence of trans and nonbinary athletes at this year's Games has been celebrated by LGBTQ+ rights advocates, but stirred controversy among critics, who argue trans women have an unfair advantage even after taking hormones to lower their testosterone.

Index fund investors saved $357 billion over last 25 years

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Investors who’ve opted to passively track the stock market haven’t just outperformed most active fund managers. They’ve also saved a ton of money in fees while doing it.

Why it matters: There are loads of active fund managers aiming to beat the returns of funds that track indexes like the S&P 500.