Meta ditches fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram in favour of X-style 'community notes'
7 January 2025, 14:15
Tech giant Meta is ditching its fact-checking service on Facebook and Instagram and replacing it with X-inspired "community notes" where users can decide on a post’s accuracy.
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Speaking in a video shared on the company’s blog, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the decision was taken to “get back to our roots around free expression.”
The use of independent fact-checkers was “well-intentioned” but had gone too far, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s newly appointed head of global affairs said.
"Too much harmless content gets censored" Mr Kaplan wrote in an accompanying blog post.
He added Meta was "too often getting in the way of the free expression we set out to enable."
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"The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritising free speech," Zuckerberg added in the video.
The change will initially only apply in the United States and will be implemented gradually over several months.
It echoes a move made by Elon Musk when he purchased Twitter - where users can share “community notes” just the veracity of a post.
Meta also confirmed plans to remove restrictions on a number of controversial topics including "immigration, gender and gender identity."
"We're getting rid of a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate," the blog post added.
"It's not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms".
These changes come as tech companies seek to woo President-elect Donald Trump, who has been extremely critical of social media platforms in the past.
Trump previously described Meta’s Facebook as an “enemy of the people.”
Mark Zuckerberg has since sought to rebuild his relationship with the hard-right Republican, visiting him at his Florida estate after last year’s election.
