Meta announced a major change in its content moderation policies on Tuesday, which includes shutting down its fact-checking program in the United States.
“We plan to remove fact-checkers and introduce community notes similar to X (formerly Twitter) in the United States,” stated Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, in a social media post.
The measure is possibly linked to the new Republican administration of Donald Trump, as reported by the US press.
Zuckerberg believed that the fact-checkers were highly politically biased and ended up undermining trust rather than building it. He expressed concern that the original goal of promoting inclusivity had instead led to the suppression of opinions and the exclusion of those with differing viewpoints, which he felt had gone too far.
Facebook’s founder recognized that under the new Meta policy, “compensation” could lead to an increase in harmful content on the platform.
Alterations
Meta’s new global affairs leader, Joel Kaplan, who has close ties to the Republican party, stated on Fox News that Meta’s collaborations with external fact-checkers were initially well-meaning but were influenced by political bias in the topics chosen for testing and the methods used.
Another conservative supporter, Dana White, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a long-time ally of Trump, also joined the new board along with Kaplan.
Zuckerberg announced a change in strategy while trying to mend relations with the president-elect, by contributing $1 million to his transition fund. Trump is set to assume office on January 20th.
Zuckerberg mentioned in the video released today that he plans to collaborate with President Trump to oppose foreign governments targeting American companies and advocate for increased censorship.
Europe was criticized for having more laws promoting censorship and hindering innovation. Current President Joe Biden was also accused of advocating for censorship.