Meta Gets Rid of Fact Checkers and Makes Other Major Changes to Moderation Policies

By Evans Momodu
1 minute digest


Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday significant changes to content moderation policies on Facebook and Instagram, replacing third-party fact-checkers with user-generated “community notes,” a system similar to that used by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).

Joel Kaplan, Meta's newly appointed Chief of Global Affairs, explained that the decision stemmed from concerns about political bias in the current fact-checking process. “Our partnerships with third-party fact-checkers were well-intentioned at the outset, but there’s just been too much political bias in what they choose to fact-check and how,” Kaplan said.

The move marks a notable ideological shift within Meta's leadership, aligning with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to strengthen ties with President-elect Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration later this month.

Kaplan emphasized the broader cultural and political changes influencing Meta's decision. “There’s no question that there has been a change over the last four years. We saw a lot of societal and political pressure, all in the direction of more content moderation, more censorship. Now, with a new administration and a president who are big defenders of free expression, we’ve got a real opportunity to reset,” he said.

The policy shift is expected to have wide-reaching implications for content governance on two of the world’s largest social media platforms.
Source: CNN
Image: Techcrunch