Meta has announced major changes to its social media moderation policies, including removing independent fact-checking moderators.
Fact-checkers have been used to filter misinformation on Meta’s platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – since 2016.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said removing fact-checkers will help “restore free expression” for millions of users.
Here’s the latest.
Fact checking
Since 2016, Meta has used third-party fact-checkers to identify “hoaxes” and “false claims” on its platforms. The moderation team involves more than 90 organisations across dozens of countries.
Fact-checkers look closely at content they or other users have identified as being false or misleading.
The fact-checkers then rate the accuracy of the post based on their factual review. Meta can then add a warning label and the fact-checker’s rating to the post and reduce its distribution.
Removal
Meta has announced third-party fact-checkers will no longer be used to review content across its platforms in the U.S.
In a video announcement, Zuckerberg described the current fact checking system as “complex”, and blamed it for creating “too many mistakes”.
“Even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts, that is millions of people,” Zuckerberg said.
Community Notes
Zuckerberg said that users will soon have access to a “Community Notes” system that is similar to what exists on X.
On X, users can sign up to a program that allows them to add notes to posts made by others that contain potentially misleading or false claims. That note shows up if people who have previously disagreed on another topic agree on this topic.
Meta said its system will draw on a “diverse range of perspectives” to add context to posts.
Other changes
The removal of fact-checkers is one of five shake-ups announced by Meta.
It will also remove “restrictions” placed on topics such as immigration and gender.
The platform will also reverse its recent efforts to reduce the amount of political content appearing on users’ feeds.
Zuckerberg said this was due to broad feedback that people “wanted to see this content again”.
Trump
Meta’s removal of fact checkers comes less than two weeks ahead of Trump’s official swearing-in as U.S. President.
Zuckerberg pledged to “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world… pushing to censor more.”
Trump previously threatened to jail Zuckerberg if he did “anything illegal” during the 2024 election.
At a press conference, Trump said this threat was “probably” responsible for Meta’s decision.
Reaction
Research group the Poynter Institute has been involved with Meta’s fact-checking system since 2016.
In response to Meta’s announcement, Poynter President Neil Brown said: “Facts are not censorship.”
“It’s time to quit invoking inflammatory and false language in describing the role of journalists and fact-checking.“
FactCheck.Org, which has been used by Meta, said the community notes model means “you’ll have to do more work on your own when you see questionable posts”.
