(The Guardian) Meta points to Trump's return as it ends factchecking project
Meta is ending its practice of having factcheckers weigh in on disputed content on platforms like Facebook, with company leaders citing Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States as a reason for ending the program.
The social media giant rolled out the factchecking program in the wake of Trump’s first election victory in 2016, which coincided with an increase in inflammatory and inaccurate content on its platforms, often from conservatives.
In an interview given exclusively to conservative outlet Fox News to announce the change, Joel Kaplan, the chief global affairs officer of Meta who is a longtime Republican operative, said: “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression.”
Founder Mark Zuckerberg said the factchecks would be replaced with community notes like those seen on X, which is owned by close Trump associate Elon Musk. In a video announcing the change, Zuckerberg said the “factcheckers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created”.
He also added that Meta would “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more”.
www.theguardian.com
Meta is ending its practice of having factcheckers weigh in on disputed content on platforms like Facebook, with company leaders citing Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States as a reason for ending the program.
The social media giant rolled out the factchecking program in the wake of Trump’s first election victory in 2016, which coincided with an increase in inflammatory and inaccurate content on its platforms, often from conservatives.
In an interview given exclusively to conservative outlet Fox News to announce the change, Joel Kaplan, the chief global affairs officer of Meta who is a longtime Republican operative, said: “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression.”
Founder Mark Zuckerberg said the factchecks would be replaced with community notes like those seen on X, which is owned by close Trump associate Elon Musk. In a video announcing the change, Zuckerberg said the “factcheckers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created”.
He also added that Meta would “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more”.
Meta to get rid of factcheckers and recommend more political content
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www.theguardian.com
