Social media giant Meta culls US fact-checks ahead of Trump term

NEWS WIRES

7 January 2025 at 1:56 pm·1-min read

Social media behemoth Meta on Tuesday eviscerated its content moderation policies, including culling its US fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, in a major shift that aligns with the flagship policies of President-elect Donald Trump.

Social media giant Meta on Tuesday slashed its content moderation policies, including culling its US fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, in a major shift that conforms with the priorities of incoming president Donald Trump.

"We're going to get rid of fact-checkers (that) have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the US," Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.

Instead, Meta platforms including Facebook and Instagram, "would use community notes similar to X (formerly Twitter), starting in the US," he added.

Meta's surprise announcement echoed long-standing complaints made by Trump's Republican Party and X owner Elon Musk about fact-checking, which many conservatives see as censorship.

They argue that fact-checking programs disproportionately target right-wing voices, which has led to proposed laws in states like Florida and Texas to limit content moderation.

(AFP)

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