Zuckerberg opens the floodgates Meta ends fact checks on Facebook and Instagram
Mark Zuckerberg announces the departure from the previous moderation model on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. And that's not all.
07.01.2025, 20:45
07.01.2025, 23:22
dpa
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- Two months after the US presidential election, the company has announced the termination of its fact-checking program in the USA.
- The California-based company will significantly revise its content moderation guidelines and end its third-party fact-checking program, explained Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
- He spoke of "censorship" that had gone too far.
In future, the Facebook group Meta wants to intervene less strongly than before in the dissemination of false claims on its platforms. Restrictions on controversial topics such as migration are to be lifted, announced founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He spoke of "censorship" that had gone too far. Cooperation with fact-checkers will be ended - initially in the USA.
Zuckerberg is aware that the changes will put Meta on a confrontational course with the EU, where there is a law against false information and hate speech on online platforms. The Meta boss is hoping that future US President Donald Trump will exert pressure against the rules, which he described as "institutionalized censorship". However, the company made it clear that there are no "immediate plans" to abolish the fact-checkers in this country.
Zuckerberg is thus following in the footsteps of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who largely lifted restrictions on comments on the platform following the takeover of Twitter. Musk's X, as the platform is now called, has since been accused by online researchers of allowing hate speech. X rejects this.
"Community notes" instead of fact checkers
Instead of fact-checkers, Meta wants to rely on users themselves to rate comments in future. This is also how it works with Musk's X. The system for such "community notes" is currently being set up. Before it is rolled out internationally, it is to be introduced in the USA.
According to the company, there are no immediate plans to end the collaboration with fact checkers in Germany. However, Meta's hands are largely tied in Europe by the Digital Services Act (DSA) on the responsibility of online platforms.
"More bad things" as a result
In addition to Facebook, Meta also includes the photo and video platform Instagram, the chat services WhatsApp and Messenger as well as the X alternative Threads. Zuckerberg admitted that there will be "more bad things" on the platforms with the new approach. However, there will be fewer mistakes with excessive moderation.
Zuckerberg pointed out that after the 2016 presidential election with Trump's first victory, the spread of misinformation online was seen as a major problem. Attempts had been made to address these concerns without becoming judges of truth and falsehood - but the fact-checkers had been too politically biased and had destroyed a lot of trust.
The head of Meta had already criticized last year that the US government of US President Joe Biden had exerted too much pressure to remove false information about the coronavirus from the platforms.
Higher threshold for intervention
The restrictions are to be lifted on migration and gender issues, as these are "no longer in line with public opinion" according to Zuckerberg. Enforcement of the rules is also to be reformed: In future, minor violations would only be checked after user complaints, and algorithms would only intervene at a higher threshold. Meta also wants to bring political and social issues back into focus.
Another step is the relocation of the moderation teams from liberal California to conservative Texas.
White flag before Trump?
Zuckerberg's move is also a rapprochement with Trump and his Republican Party. They had been claiming for years that "conservative views" were being suppressed on Meta and other online platforms. During the election campaign, Trump described Facebook as the "enemy of the people" and threatened that Zuckerberg would spend the rest of his life in prison if it was concluded that Meta was interfering in the election campaign. Zuckerberg visited Trump after the election victory.
Shortly before the announcement, there was also an important change in the company's management. In line with the imminent change of power in Washington, the company appointed Joel Kaplan - a former employee of Republican ex-President George W. Bush - as its new head of policy.
U-turn before the moment of truth for Tiktok
Meta's U-turn comes at a key moment for the future of its competitor Tiktok. On January 19, the app is threatened by law with closure in the USA if it is not sold. The US Supreme Court will hear the case on Friday. Trump, who once wanted to force a Tiktok sale himself, recently spoke out against a ban on the video app, partly because it represents a counterweight to Meta's apps and was useful for him during the election campaign. With more freedom on Facebook and the like, Tiktok could now become less interesting for the Trump camp.