(NewsNation) — Meta has announced it will end Facebook's third-party fact-checking program and move to a community notes system, as well as increasing political content.
A statement from Meta said the decision is part of a move to "restore free expression" to platforms. The topic was something that President-elect Donald Trump has complained about when it came to social media as platforms moved to identify false information on topics like COVID-19.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November and in December donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund.
"The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech," Zuckerberg said in a video announcing the change.
He also acknowledged that more harmful content could make it onto Meta's social media platforms in what he called a "trade-off" for free expression.
In addition to ending fact-checking, Meta also announced it is adding Trump ally and UFC CEO Dana White to its board.
The company said it will instead use a community notes model similar to that on X, where a note appears warning content is potentially misleading or in need of more context, leaving it up to users to determine what is accurate.
Meta also said it would be getting rid of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are politically charged, saying it didn't seem right for things to be allowed on TV or the floor of Congress but not on social media.
Along with other social media platforms, Facebook has come under fire for allowing the spread of inaccurate content, particularly when it comes to issues that are politically charged or impact public health.
The company also said it would be changing the way it enforces policies, with automated systems focusing more on illegal and high-severity violations like terrorism child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams.
For political content, Meta said it would take a more "personalized approach" to give people who want to see it more of it in their feeds.
Source:
www.newsnationnow.com
English (United States)