Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Tuesday that it will discontinue its third-party fact-checking program in favor of a new system called Community Notes, which will rely on user-generated content similar to the model utilized by Elon Musk’s social media platform X. This change will be implemented initially in the United States, where Meta will phase out its collaboration with independent third-party fact-checkers.
The decision to move away from the fact-checking program was based on Meta’s assertion that expert fact-checkers often exhibit biases, leading to a high volume of content being subjected to fact-checking. In lieu of this, Meta will transition to a Community Notes model that harnesses the collective intelligence of users to contribute to fact-checking efforts.
Chief Global Affairs Officer of Meta, Joel Kaplan, explained the rationale behind the shift, drawing a parallel to X’s community-driven approach in identifying potentially misleading posts that require additional context. Kaplan highlighted the success of this model on X and expressed confidence in its potential application within Meta’s platforms.
The new system will be implemented gradually over the coming months, with Meta committing to continuous improvement throughout the year. As part of this transition, Meta will introduce labels to replace the existing warnings overlay on posts, which often necessitated user interaction to view content.
The Associated Press, a previous participant in Meta’s fact-checking program, ceased its involvement a year ago. Additionally, Meta revealed its intention to relax restrictions on certain topics, such as immigration and gender, to facilitate a more open dialogue on mainstream issues while prioritizing action against illegal activities and severe violations like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, and drug-related content.
Acknowledging past shortcomings in content moderation, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that recent political events, including Donald Trump’s election victory, have influenced the company’s shift towards reevaluating its approach to speech regulation. Zuckerberg emphasized the need to restore a balance that favors free expression, reflecting a broader societal trend towards prioritizing open discourse post-election.
The company’s Oversight Board, designed to adjudicate controversial content decisions independently, expressed support for Meta’s proposed changes and indicated readiness to collaborate closely to ensure the new approach is both effective and supportive of free speech principles.
