Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it is discontinuing its third-party fact-checking program in the United States, stating that it aims to promote “more speech” on its platform.
The social media giant Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, disclosed the termination of its third-party fact-checking program in the US, in a move seen as aligning with incoming US President Donald Trump, whose supporters have criticized online content moderation as a form of censorship.
Instead of relying on third-party fact-checkers, Meta will now employ “community notes,” similar to those used on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter. This approach allows contributors to propose factual corrections to posts, which will only become visible after being approved by other contributors with diverse viewpoints.
Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan explained that the previous fact-checking initiative was intended to provide more accurate information about viral hoaxes by utilizing independent experts. However, the system veered off track, checking content that was perceived as legitimate political speech and debate, ultimately leading to unintended consequences such as intrusive labels and reduced content distribution.
“A program that was originally designed to inform ended up being wielded as a tool for censorship,” Kaplan stated.
Moreover, Meta announced the lifting of restrictions on controversial political topics, like immigration and gender identity.
“It’s not fair that certain things can be expressed on television or in Congress, but not on our platforms,” Kaplan remarked, noting that these adjustments will be rolled out gradually over several weeks.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also revealed plans to relocate the company’s content moderation team from California to Texas, stating that this move will help foster trust in areas where concerns about bias are less pronounced.
Zuckerberg emphasized that while the relaxations in moderation filters may result in fewer offensive posts being caught, they will also reduce erroneous removals of innocent individuals’ posts and accounts.
Following Meta’s announcement, President-elect Trump commended Zuckerberg and the company during a press briefing at Mar-a-Lago.
When questioned if the decision was influenced by previous threats made by Trump towards social media platforms, the president-elect responded succinctly: “Probably.”
While much of the discourse around social media content moderation in the US revolves around domestic issues, COVID-19, and election interference, advocates for Palestinian rights have long accused Meta of stifling their posts.
In 2023, Human Rights Watch issued a report condemning Meta for “muzzling voices advocating for Palestine and Palestinian human rights,” citing over 1,000 instances of suppressed posts on Meta platforms between October and November of that year.
