Facebook’s parent company Meta will end its third-party fact-checking program and move to a so-called “community notes” model, modeled after Elon Musk’s platform X, the CEO announced on Tuesday. Meta, Mark Zuckerberg.
Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook PHOTO: Facebook
“We will return to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free speech on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said in a video statement posted on Meta’s corporate website. to the fact-checkers system and we will replace it with community notes, similar to X, starting with the USA”, he added, writes news.ro.
The company has no plans to end fact-checking in the EU, the company clarified when asked by POLITICO, and will review its content moderation obligations in the EU before making changes.
The move comes as Meta, as well as other tech giants, are trying to get closer to the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump. Meta also appointed a longtime Republican to head global policy and Dana White, a close associate of Trump, to its board of directors.
Brendan Carr, Trump’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, commented on a post on X that featured Zuckerberg’s announcement with a meme of actor Jack Nicholson nodding enthusiastically. Carr has vowed to destroy what he calls the “censorship cartel” in Big Tech.
Facebook launched its fact-checking system with external partners in December 2016 in response to growing criticism of the company’s role in the US election that led to Donald Trump’s first victory. Other platforms, such as Twitter, have also started using it “verifiers” external – until billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022. The site introduced a function where users, instead of external verifiers, can add community notes to viral posts.
In addition to the social networks Facebook and Instagram, Meta also owns and operates the messaging platform WhatsApp.
ZUCKERBERG’S DECISION CRITICIZED
The decision announced by Zuckerberg comes less than two weeks before the inauguration of the new Trump administration in the US, during which Musk will also take on a new role as supervisor of the newly created “Department of Government Efficiency”.
According to Reuters, Zuckerberg also announced on Tuesday that he has eased restrictions on discussions on controversial topics such as immigration and gender identity. The move marks a reversal of Meta’s policy, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long advocated active content moderation despite criticism from conservatives over alleged censorship on his platforms.
“We have reached a point where there are simply too many mistakes and too much censorship. It is time to return to our roots around free speech. We will focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free speech on our platforms. We will be adjusting our content filters to require a much higher level of trust before removing content.” Zuckerberg explained.
The end of the fact-checking program, which began in 2016, took some partner organizations by surprise, according to Reuters. “We didn’t know this move would happen and it’s a shock for us. This will definitely affect us”said Jesse Stiller, editor-in-chief of Check Your Fact.
Instead, Meta’s independent Supervisory Board welcomed the move.
The latest changes will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads – three of the largest social media platforms, with more than 3 billion users worldwide.
“This is a major step back for content moderation at a time when misinformation and harmful content are evolving faster than ever,” said Ross Burley, co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Information Resilience. . This move seems to be more of a measure of political reconciliation than an intelligent policy”, Burley pointed out.
WHAT THE “COMMUNITY NOTES” MODEL INCLUDES
The success of this initiative, however, remains to be seen.
Elon Musk’s X is already the subject of an investigation by the European Commission regarding the dissemination of illegal content in the EU and the effectiveness of measures taken to combat information manipulation, including through the system “Community Notes”.
The commission launched the investigation in December 2023, a few months after X launched the function of “community notes”.
Meta said it will begin phasing out community notes in the US over the next two months and will improve the model throughout the year.
It will allow users to flag potentially misleading posts that need more context, rather than entrusting that responsibility to independent fact-checking organizations and experts.
Meta will not decide which Community Notes appear on posts.
“It’s a smart move on Zuck’s part, and I expect other platforms to follow suit.” Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Elon Musk’s X platform, said in a post.
Following Musk’s model, Meta will also move its teams overseeing content policies and content review from California to Texas and other locations in the US.
Meta said it would focus its automated systems on high-profile violations, including terrorism and drugs.
