Effective Monday, Meta will cease its fact-checking initiatives in the United States. This announcement was made by the newly appointed chief of global policy.
“By Monday afternoon, our fact-checking program in the US will be officially over. This means no new fact checks and no fact checkers,” the chief stated. “Instead, the first Community Notes will gradually surface across Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, without any penalties.”
In January, just weeks before the start of President Trump’s second term, Meta’s CEO articulated a shift in content moderation for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, replacing the fact-checking program with Community Notes. He highlighted concerns over perceived political bias among fact-checkers and their impact on user trust.
Meta’s new policy is viewed as an attempt to protect free speech and address political censorship. However, civil rights and digital policy experts warn that this change may exacerbate the spread of misinformation and disinformation on Meta platforms. This approach aligns with similar strategies implemented by other platforms, which have seen a rise in harmful content.
The company has begun beta testing Community Notes and is inviting users to contribute. Eligible users must be over 18, have an account older than six months, and maintain a good standing.
It’s noteworthy that Meta will not apply Community Notes to paid advertisements, allowing potentially outrageous or offensive content to bypass scrutiny through financial means. Coinciding with the discontinuation of fact-checking, the company also dismantled its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and scaled back its hate speech policies.
