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Meta Ditches Fact-Checkers Ahead of Trump's Second Term

Jan 07, 2025 - wired.com
Meta has announced it will discontinue its third-party fact-checking programs on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, replacing them with a Community Notes model similar to X's volunteer program. This change, initially affecting the US, aims to allow more open discussion on mainstream topics by lifting restrictions and focusing on illegal and high-severity violations. Meta's chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, criticized previous moderation policies for being influenced by societal and political pressures, leading to over-moderation. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the new policies would simplify content guidelines and increase political content visibility, while relocating the trust and safety team to Texas to reduce perceived bias.

Critics argue that this shift is a retreat from responsible content moderation, potentially opening Meta's platforms to misinformation and far-right propaganda. The Real Facebook Oversight Board condemned the move as political pandering and likened it to Twitter's controversial shift away from fact-checking, which they claim has degraded the platform's quality. Despite these criticisms, Zuckerberg expressed intentions to collaborate with political figures like Donald Trump to counteract global censorship efforts against American companies.

Key takeaways:

  • Meta is replacing its third-party fact-checking programs with a Community Notes model, similar to X's volunteer program, to allow more open discussion on its platforms.
  • The change will initially affect moderation in the US, focusing on illegal and high-severity violations while lifting restrictions on mainstream discourse topics.
  • Meta's leadership criticized previous content moderation policies as overly influenced by societal and political pressure, claiming they led to over-moderation and bias.
  • Critics argue that Meta's new approach is a retreat from responsible content moderation, potentially opening the platform to misinformation and far-right propaganda.
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