Meta is copying X's Community Notes model, where users vet fact-checking posts, in an effort to promote free expression.
Meta DESIGNATED Tuesday that it is ending its eight-year independent fact-checking program for Facebook, Instagram and Threads and will instead switch to a Community Notes program written and reviewed by volunteers.
Community Notes ask users to report posts that may be misleading or should be removed and then add an explanation citing their sources. This feature will roll out in the US over the next few months.
Meta says is making this change because its previous third-party fact-checking program was too biased and made “too many mistakes, frustrating our users.” Meta began its content moderation program in 2016, in the weeks after the election of Donald Trump, in response to external political and social pressure to curb misinformation. In response, Meta charged with external organizations like the Associated Press and ABC News by looking for possibly false or misleading posts on its platforms to see if they should be deleted.
Now Meta says that third-party moderation has gone too far and is hindering free expression. Plus, President-elect Donald Trump's quick inauguration shows the tide is turning toward free speech, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“The recent election also feels like a cultural tipping point to once again prioritize speech,” Zuckerberg said. in a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday explaining the Community Notes change. “So we're going back to our roots and focusing on reducing errors, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms.”
Meta donated $1 million for Trump's inaugural fund last month, with Meta's then president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, stating that Zuckerberg is eager to play a role in the technology policies of the Trump administration.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The meta is making other changes around allowed topics and automated systems. Starting Tuesday, the tech giant will eliminate moderation rules on topics such as immigration and gender identity.
In the past, Meta depended on automated systems to flag all policy violations, a system he says led to “a lot of content being censored that shouldn't have been.” It will now rely only on automated systems to flag illegal and high-severity violations and rely on users reporting problems for the rest.
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Meta follows X's lead in implementing Community Notes, a similarity that Meta acknowledged.
“We've seen this approach work at X – where they empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context, and people in a range of different perspectives decide what kind of context is useful for other users.” Meta wrote in a statement.
X he began to emphasize Community notes after Elon Musk bought the organization in the spring of 2022. One academic study released in April by researchers at the University of California, San Diego showed that Community Notes of X were almost always correct and referred to high quality sources.
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