Social media giant Meta on Tuesday slashed its content moderation policies, including ending its US fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, in a major shift that conforms with the priorities of incoming president Donald Trump.
“We’re going to get rid of fact-checkers (that) have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created, especially in the US,” Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.
Instead, Meta platforms including Facebook and Instagram, “would use community notes similar to X (formerly Twitter), starting in the US,” he added.
Meta’s surprise announcement echoed long-standing complaints made by Trump’s Republican Party and X owner Elon Musk about fact-checking, which many conservatives see as censorship.
They argue that fact-checking programs target right-wing voices, which has led to proposed laws in states like Florida and Texas to limit content moderation.
“This is cool,” Musk posted on his X platform after the announcement.
The shift came as the 40-year-old tycoon has been making efforts to reconcile with Trump since his election in November, including donating one million dollars to his inauguration fund.
Trump has been a harsh critic of Meta and Zuckerberg for years, accusing the company of bias against him and threatening to retaliate against the tech billionaire once back in office.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, when asked if he believed the move was a response to his threats against Zuckerberg, Trump responded: “Probably, yeah.”
The Republican was kicked off Facebook following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, though the company restored his account in early 2023.
Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network, said the decision came after “extreme political pressure.”
The move “will hurt social media users who are looking for accurate, reliable information to make decisions about their everyday lives and interactions with friends and family.”
