22 hours ago
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If you’re looking for a sign of the times, here’s your sign: Meta has announced that Facebook, Instagram, and Threads will dump their fact-checking experts because fact-checking is “out of touch with mainstream discourse.”
In a new video, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the decision to implement a “Community Notes model” instead. “The recent elections feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech,” he said. “So we’re going to go back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.”
Zuckerberg repeatedly acknowledged the move was political. He admitted the fact-check system was created in response to “legacy media” writing “nonstop” about misinformation’s threat to democracy after President-Elect Donald Trump’s first election. However, he claimed fact-checkers have since become “too politically biased” and “destroyed more trust than they created.”
“We’re going to simplify our content policies and get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse,” he said. “What started as a movement to become more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas and it’s gone too far.”
He also acknowledged Meta was following in the footsteps of rival Elon Musk, saying X (formerly known as Twitter) had allowed its “community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context.”
The decision follows Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs like Jeff Bezos and Ted Sarandos bending the knee to Trump before his second term in office. Zuckerberg recently made a trip to Mar-a-Lago and announced Meta was donating $1 million to his inaugural committee — marking a first for the company.
English (US) · 