Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style “community ratings” where feedback on the accuracy of posts is left up to users.
In a video published alongside a blog post On Tuesday, the company’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said third-party moderators were “too politically biased” and that it was “time to return to our roots around free speech.”
Joel Kaplan, who replaces Sir Nick Clegg as Meta’s head of global affairs, wrote that the company’s reliance on independent moderators was “well-intentioned” but had too often resulted in user censorship.
However, campaigners against online hate speech reacted with dismay – and suggested the change was actually motivated by getting on Donald Trump’s good side.
“Zuckerberg’s announcement is a blatant attempt to cozy up to the new Trump administration – with harmful implications,” said Ava Lee of Global Witness, a campaign group that describes itself as seeking to hold big tech accountable .
“Claiming to avoid ‘censorship’ is a political move to avoid taking responsibility for the hate and misinformation that platforms encourage and facilitate,” she added.
Meta’s current fact-checking program, introduced in 2016, refers posts that appear false or misleading to independent organizations to assess their credibility.
Posts flagged as inaccurate could display labels offering viewers more information about why and be moved lower in users’ feeds.
This will now be replaced by “US first” with community ratings. Meta says it has no immediate plans to make changes in the EU. The BBC asked what its intentions were for the UK, but the corporation is yet to comment.
The new system – which the tech giant says it has seen “working on X” – involves people with different viewpoints agreeing on notes that add context or clarification to controversial messages.
The UK’s Molly Rose Foundation called the announcement a “major concern for online safety”.
“We are urgently clarifying the scope of these measures, including whether they will apply to suicide, self-harm and depressive content,” said its president, Ian Russell.
“These measures could have disastrous consequences for many children and young adults.”
The meta a blog post says it would also “undo mission creep” of rules and policies – emphasizing the removal of restrictions on topics such as “immigration, gender and gender identity” – claiming that those -these have stemmed political discussions and debates.
“It’s not fair that things can be said on television or in Congress, but not on our platforms,” he said.
The changes come as tech companies and their executives prepare for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has previously heavily criticized Meta and its approach to content moderation, calling Facebook the “enemy of the people” in March 2024.
But relations between the two men have improved since then – Mr. Zuckerberg dined at Trump’s Florida estate at Mar-a-Lago in November. Meta also donated $1 million to an inauguration fund for Trump.
“The recent election also appears to be a cultural shift toward a new emphasis on free speech,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in Tuesday’s video.
Mr Kaplan replacing Sir Nick Clegg – a former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister – as the company’s chairman of global affairs was also taken as a signal of the company’s changing approach to moderation and its changing political priorities.
Kate Klonick, associate professor of law at St John’s University School of Law, said the changes reflected a trend “that has seemed inevitable in recent years, particularly since Musk’s takeover of X.”
“The private governance of speech on these platforms has increasingly become a political issue,” she told BBC News.
While companies previously faced pressure to establish trust and safety mechanisms to deal with issues such as harassment, hate speech and misinformation, a “radical move back in the opposite direction” is now in progress, she added.
