Meta to stop fact-checking program on its social media platform in a bid to align with Trump’s policies

Meta Platforms Inc. META-Q is ending its fact-checking program and easing restrictions on content in a bid to reduce censorship as the company becomes more aligned with the incoming Trump administration.

 

The U.S. tech giant, which owns and operates Facebook and Instagram, announced Tuesday that its fact-checking program with independent third parties will be replaced with a community notes model similar to the model on X, where users can write and rate notes on posts with potentially misleading content. Meta said it decided to scrap the program because expert fact checkers had their own biases and too much content ended up being censored.

 

The community notes system will be phased in over the next couple of months, starting in the U.S. The company is also removing restrictions on certain topics, such as immigration and gender, dialling back on content filters and reintroducing more content related to politics and social issues.

 

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a video that the changes were influenced by the recent U.S. elections, which he described as a “cultural tipping point.”

“We’re going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more,” Mr. Zuckerberg said.

 

The changes by Meta are part of a broader multinational trend, experts say, in which companies and governments are aligning themselves with major policy changes proposed by the incoming U.S. president – and this trend has implications for Canadian online policy.

 

Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law, said he expects Canada’s current digital content policies could come under pressure from the U.S. in the near future, and the possibility of a Conservative government coming to power in Canada this year only makes that more likely.

 

While Canada’s current Liberal government has implemented bills, such as the Online Streaming Act and Online News Act, which increase the regulation of social media and streaming platforms, Mr. Geist said it’s clear the Conservatives have a different vision for regulating Canadian content – one that aligns more closely with what’s unfurling in the U.S.

 

Mr. Geist said Meta’s shift heavily aligns with the Conservative Party of Canada’s messaging about the risks of censorship from digital policy in Canada and noted that Mr. Zuckerberg’s language around censorship is similar to that of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s.

 

“If what we’re seeing from Meta is ultimately reflected in U.S. government policy, then that’s surely going to have an impact on Canadian policy,” he said.

 

Meta began fact checks in December, 2016, after Mr. Trump was elected to his first term, in response to criticism that “fake news” was spreading on its platforms. For years, the tech giant boasted it was working with more than 100 organizations in over 60 languages to combat misinformation.

 

Samantha Bradshaw, an assistant professor in new technology and security at American University in Washington, said systems such as community notes can be helpful in terms of providing more context and encouraging public participation in fact-checking. However, she said removing third-party fact-checking programs from Facebook and Instagram doesn’t equate to making speech freer.

“Fact-checking isn’t a freedom of speech and censorship issue,” she said. “Attaching notices to posts that point users towards additional information or provide users with additional context, that’s not censorship. In fact, that can encourage free speech and encourage people to be more informed about their political opinions.”

 

Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover of X – then known as Twitter – served as a turning point for social-media companies, Ms. Bradshaw said, because they realized there are few repercussions for allowing harmful content to circulate on their platforms. Meta’s latest announcement is an extension of this, she said.

 

“The golden age of trust and safety is really over,” she said.

 

Also on Tuesday, Meta announced it had elected three new directors to its board, including Dana White, a close friend of Mr. Trump and CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A few days earlier, Republican Joel Kaplan was hired into the role of chief global affairs officer for Meta and in December, Meta confirmed its $1-million donation to president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund.

 

 

 

This article was first reported by Reuters