Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced the conclusion of its long-standing fact-checking program. This was reported by The Guardian.
Instead of relying on third-party fact-checkers, the company will now depend on its users to add notes to posts.
Meta's decision is believed to be linked to the changing political landscape in the United States. Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, the company is actively seeking to build relationships with the new administration.
In November, Zuckerberg met with Trump, and subsequently, Meta donated $1 million to support the president's inauguration. Additionally, last week, Zuckerberg appointed Joel Kaplan, a close ally of the Republican Party, to a senior position in the company's policy department. Kaplan stated that Meta's fact-checking had been "too politically biased."
"The reality is that this is a compromise. We will catch misinformation less frequently, but the number of mistakenly removed posts and accounts will also decrease," noted Zuckerberg.
Meta's decision was also influenced by Elon Musk, the owner of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, who has long advocated for free expression online. After purchasing X in 2022, Musk removed most publication restrictions and implemented a Community Notes system, where users can comment on posts containing misleading information.
Meta plans to adopt a similar system on its platforms and move content moderation operations from California to Texas in order to, according to Zuckerberg, "reduce the level of bias within teams." Musk made a similar decision in July of last year.
Musk commented on Meta's decision, calling it "cool."
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1876657662068461657
The fact-checking program was launched by Meta after the 2016 elections when the company was accused of allowing the spread of misinformation on its platforms.
Meta collaborated with major media and fact-checking organizations worldwide, investing billions of dollars in content moderation.
With the new administration in place, Meta aims to eliminate the need for constant moderation of a vast amount of content.
"We have a new administration that supports free speech and does not pressure companies for censorship," stated Kaplan.
Meta also intends to introduce a personalized approach to political content and lift restrictions on discussions of topics previously considered sensitive, such as migration and gender identity.
Earlier, Spot reported that Trump nominated a cryptocurrency supporter to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.