WATCH: President -Elect Trump Praises Meta for Ending Fact-Checking Program, Replaces It With ‘Community Notes’

Zuckerberg: It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram

 

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WATCH: “It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the above video statement.

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Zuckerberg criticized the Biden administration for what he called its support of censorship, which he claimed has “emboldened” other governments.

MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA – Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, announced on Tuesday that it is ending its third-party fact-checking program in the United States.

The program, introduced in the aftermath of the 2016 election of Donald Trump, will be replaced by a system of “community notes,” similar to the model used by Elon Musk’s X.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited the decision as a step toward revitalizing the company’s commitment to free expression.

“It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” Zuckerberg said in a video statement.

The fact-checking program, which relied on third-party organizations to flag and remove misleading posts, had drawn criticism for alleged political bias.

“The fact-checkers have become too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they created, especially in the U.S.,” said Zuckerberg.

In a bid to rebuild trust, Meta is relocating its content moderation team from California to Texas. Zuckerberg said the move aims to restore confidence in the team’s impartiality.

Zuckerberg also revealed plans to collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump to resist censorship by authoritarian regimes, including the Chinese Communist Party. He criticized the Biden administration for what he called its support of censorship, which he claimed has “emboldened” other governments.

President-elect Trump praised Meta’s announcement during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

“Honestly, I think they’ve come a long way,” he said, referring to Zuckerberg’s remarks. When asked if Meta’s policy shift was a response to his previous criticisms, Trump replied, “Probably.”

Community-Driven Moderation

The new community notes feature will allow users to contribute context to posts deemed potentially misleading. These notes will only appear if they receive sufficient support from users across diverse ideological perspectives.

Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, explained the shift in a company blog post: “The notes empower our community to decide when posts need additional context. People from a variety of perspectives collaborate to provide helpful information for others.”

Simplified Content Policies

Meta is also streamlining its content moderation policies as part of broader changes. Rules governing sensitive topics such as immigration and gender are being removed, which Zuckerberg described as “out of touch with mainstream discourse.”

He added that Meta will continue to take action against severe violations, like those involving drugs, but will now rely on user reports to address less severe issues.

The change marks a departure from the company’s previous proactive approach, which used automated systems to detect and remove content flagged as violating its policies.

“Even if they accidentally censor just one percent of posts, that’s millions of people,” Zuckerberg said. “We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship.”

Meta also plans to reintroduce political content into users’ feeds, reversing a decision to suppress such posts.

“We don’t want to get between people and the posts they may find valuable,” Kaplan said, emphasizing that political posts will now be treated like other types of content.

The company will use signals from users to recommend political posts to those interested. This shift comes in response to user feedback expressing a desire for more political discourse.

Meta’s overhaul marks a significant shift in how the company balances content moderation and free expression. With the changes, Meta aims to rebuild trust among its users while adapting to the evolving landscape of online discourse.

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