January 7, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg Promotes Free Speech By Ending Fact-Checking On Meta Platforms Facebook And Instagram
Think this will end well?
Following X CEO Elon Musk, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will end fact-checking on its Instagram and Facebook platforms to promote free speech, CNN reported.
In a video circulating on social media, Zuckerberg says the company will embrace a policy of user-generated “community notes” after months of pressure and accusations from Republicans for what they view as censorship of right-wing voices on Meta. “Fact-checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created,” Zuckerberg said in the video posted on Jan. 7.
“What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas, and it’s gone too far.”
The change comes just days before President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration. Zuckerberg is in the ranks of CEOs looking to improve relationships with the troubled businessman. The CEO has made certain moves that adhere to GOP pressures. In early January 2025, Trump ally and UFC CEO Dana White was announced to be joining Meta’s board alongside two new directors. Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican, was recently named Meta’s Chief of Global Affairs, and the parent company also announced a donation of $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, noting that Zuckerberg wants to take an “active role” in specific tech policy discussions.
While Zuckerburg acknowledged a “tradeoff” in the new policy, noting some of the threatening content that will come with the changes, Kaplan said during a Fox News interview that Meta’s 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.” “We saw a lot of societal and political pressure, all in the direction of more content, moderation, more censorship, and we’ve got a real opportunity,” Kaplan said.
“Now, we’ve got a new administration and a new president coming in who are big defenders of free expression, and that makes a difference.”
Social media fans reacted to the news, laughing at the move. “I laughed uncontrollably when he said that they are moving the censorship police to Texas,” @UTexLonghorns said on X.
Another user foreshadowed community notes on popular memes and gifs. “I look forward to community notes on memes and satire pages. It’s going to be hilarious,” @airynne said.
According to The Seattle Times, Meta plans to permit “more speech” by getting rid of some restrictions on certain topics deemed as mainstream discussion, like immigration and gender norms, to focus on illegal and “high severity violations” such as terrorism, child sexual exploitation, and drugs.
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