Mark Zuckerberg: Meta Will End Fact-Checking Program, Says It’s “Too Politically Biased”

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Meta Platforms Inc. is implementing significant shifts in its content moderation guidelines, discontinuing its fact-checking initiative and allowing more political discussions onto the timelines of Facebook and Instagram. This move is spearheaded by CEO Mark Zuckerberg as an effort to promote “freedom of speech” on these platforms.

Zuckerberg unveiled the changes in a video early Tuesday morning.

In the video, Zuckerberg expressed regret over the increasing calls for censorship in discussions about harmful online content, stating that governments and traditional media outlets are advocating for more and more suppression.

Zuckerberg stated that we have made too many errors and imposed excessive censorship. He believes that recent elections indicate a shift in culture towards prioritizing freedom of speech again. Consequently, he plans to return to our original values by focusing on reducing mistakes, streamlining our policies, and promoting free expression on our platforms once more.

This change involves phasing out fact-checking tools and transitioning to a community notes model, much like how Elon Musk’s X operates. This means users will have more freedom to discuss topics that were once restricted, such as immigration, gender identity, and gender. Meta’s statement in their blog post emphasizes the inconsistency that certain discussions are allowed on TV or in Congress, but not on their platforms.

Mark Zuckerberg admits that although the choice to incorporate fact-checkers was initially driven by noble motives, it unfortunately had an adverse effect.

From 2016, when Trump was first elected in the United States, the mainstream media continuously warned about misinformation posing a danger to democracy,” Zuckerberg explained. “In an attempt to allay those concerns without assuming the role of truth-tellers, we made efforts, but the fact-checkers have proven too politically biased and have actually eroded more trust than they’ve built, particularly in the U.S.

Facebook (Meta) plans to relocate its Content Moderation and Trust & Safety departments away from California, establishing a new base in Texas for content reviews. Mark Zuckerberg stated that this move would aid in fostering trust by reducing concerns about potential biases within the teams, as they carry out their work in locations perceived as less predisposed to such issues.

Moreover, it’s worth mentioning that Zuckerberg expressed his desire to collaborate personally with President Trump, focusing on overcoming limitations on social media networks in various nations across the globe.

Mark Zuckerberg stated that they will collaborate with President Trump in resisting foreign governments that are targeting American businesses and advocating for increased censorship. He highlighted the challenges Meta encounters, such as outright bans in countries like China. He added that the only effective way to counter this global trend is through the backing of the U.S. government, which has been challenging during the past four years due to its push for censorship towards American companies. This support from the U.S. government has given other governments the confidence to push further with their censorship efforts. However, now we have an opportunity to reestablish free expression, and Zuckerberg expressed his enthusiasm about taking this chance.

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2025-01-07 16:25