As of late, the Meta team has decided to drop independent fact-checkers from their social networks. This will now be replaced by a “Community Notes” type marker. We will tell you about the reasons for these changes and other details in this article.
In the latest video, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “In recent years we’ve developed increasingly complex systems to manage content across our platforms, partly in response to societal and political pressure to moderate content. This approach has gone too far. As well-intentioned as many of these efforts have been, they have expanded over time to the point where we are making too many mistakes, frustrating our users and too often getting in the way of the free expression we set out to enable. We want to fix that and return to that fundamental commitment to free expression.”
It’s obvious that third-party fact checking services have made impressive changes to Instagram and Facebook publishing in recent years. By the way, these changes have not always had a positive outcome. That’s why the Meta team decided to limit the impact of such services and take the initiative into their own hands.
Many users were surprised by this decision and assumed that Meta was definitely inspired by X (formerly Twitter, before the arrival of Elon Musk). At the same time, the introduction of the new rule was made at an unusual time: the inauguration of a new US president. Some experts believe it’s connected.
Despite the positivity of both users and Meta itself, activists who support the fight against online hate speech are concerned about the upcoming changes. There are suggestions that it will lead to censorship, infringing on the rights of some parties and activists.
Moreover, the issue of fact checking for depressing content aimed at encouraging self-harm, addictions and mental problems is once again being raised. Nevertheless, Meta representatives immediately assured that the attitude towards this kind of content will always be strict both on Instagram and Facebook.
In our view, the changes are positive and will have a good impact on Meta’s ranking on the global stage. Nevertheless, we will still continue to follow the changes both on this topic and on other social networks. In the meantime, read other useful articles and news in our Blog section.
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