Meta Finally Rolls Back Fact Checkers After Decades Of Backlash, Hypocrisy And Call-Outs

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, announced the rollback of its fact-checking program, marking a major shift in the company's approach to moderating online content. Zuckerberg stated that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will introduce a new feature called "Community Notes" to promote free expression and enrich more nuanced conversations and the company will no longer rely on fact-checkers to combat misinformation on its platforms.

For years, Meta faced criticism for its handling of misinformation, with many accusing the platform of hypocrisy and inconsistency in its fact-checking practices. Despite its efforts to combat fake news, Meta was often called out for its role in spreading misinformation, sparking debates about censorship, free speech, and the responsibility to regulate online content. 

According to Mark Zuckerberg, the decision to move away from fact-checkers is aimed at "restoring free expression" on the platform. Zuckerberg believes that fact-checking can sometimes be overly broad and suppress legitimate discussions. The move comes less than two weeks before the inauguration of Trump's new administration in the United States, which will also see Musk take on a new role overseeing the newly created "Department of Government Efficiency."

Meta Will Start ‘Community Notes’ In The US

As per the information, community notes will allow users to add context to misleading posts, providing a more collaborative approach to addressing misinformation. This feature is designed to encourage users to engage in constructive conversations and provide additional information that can help others better understand complex issues.

Starting in the US, Meta will end its fact-checking programme with independent third parties. The company said it decided to end the programme because expert fact-checkers had their own biases and too much content ended up being fact-checked.

“We’ve seen this approach work on X – where they empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context," Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan said in a blog post.

The social media company also said plans to allow “more speech" by lifting some restrictions on some topics that are part of the mainstream discussion to focus on illegal and “high severity violations" like terrorism, child sexual exploitation and drugs.

Meta said that its approach of building complex systems to manage content on its platforms has “gone too far" and has made “too many mistakes" and censored too much content.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that the changes are in part sparked by Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.

“The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards tower once again prioritising speech," Zuckerberg said in an online video.

Meta's quasi-independent Oversight Board, which was set up to act as a referee on controversial content decisions, said it welcomed the changes and looked forward to working with the company "to understand the changes in greater detail, ensuring its new approach can be as effective and speech-friendly as possible."

Some Experts Warn Spread Of Misinformation

The latest changes to Meta's content moderation policies have sparked concerns among experts, who warn that the move could lead to the spread of misinformation and harmful content. Meta's decision to roll back its fact-checking program and introduce a new "Community Notes" model has been criticised as a "major step back" for content moderation.

Ross Burley, co-founder of the non-profit Centre for Information Resilience, expressed concerns that the move was motivated by "political appeasement" rather than a genuine desire to improve content moderation, reported a foreign media agency.

Zuckerberg Takes Cue From Musk

Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of the significant shift in Meta's policy is being considered a move that echoes Elon Musk's approach to content moderation. Meta claims to be breaking free from the constraints of fact-checking, embracing a more hands-off approach to moderating online content. 

Notably, the Community Notes model, which allows users to flag misleading posts, has already been implemented by Elon Musk's X platform. However, X is currently under investigation by the European Commission over its handling of illegal content and information manipulation.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk too responded to Mark Zuckerberg's decision to dump fact-checkers in an attempt to 'restore' free speech. Zuckerberg cited that moderators were "too politically biased" and he pledges a system similar to X, to which, Musk reacted on his X handle saying, "This is cool". 

Meta plans to phase in the Community Notes feature in the US over the next few months and improve the model over the year. However, critics argue that relying on user-generated notes rather than independent fact-checking organizations and experts could lead to a proliferation of misinformation.