By Katie Paul, Supantha Mukherjee and Deborah Mary Sophia
(Reuters) -Social media company Meta Platforms (NASDAQ on Tuesday scrapped its fact-checking program in the United States and eased restrictions on discussions about contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity, bowing to criticism from conservatives as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office for a second time.
The move is Meta's biggest recent overhaul in its approach to managing political content on its services and comes as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has signaled his desire to improve relations with the incoming administration.
The changes will affect facebook, instagram and Threads, three of the world's largest social media platforms with more than 3 billion users worldwide.
Last week, Meta elevated Republican policy executive Joel Kaplan as head of global affairs and on Monday announced that it had tapped Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a close friend of Trump, to its board of directors.
“We've reached a point where there are too many mistakes and too much censorship. It's time to go back to our roots around free expression,” Zuckerberg said in a video.
He acknowledged the role of the recent US election in his thinking, saying that it “feels like a cultural turning point, toward once again prioritizing discourse.”
Instead of a formal fact-checking program to address dubious claims posted on Meta platforms, Zuckerberg plans to implement a “community notes” system similar to that used at Elon Musk-owned x.
Meta will also focus its automated systems on removing “high severity violations” and illegal content such as terrorism and illicit drugs, Zuckerberg said. It will stop proactively scanning for hate speech and other types of rule violations, and will review such posts only in response to user reports.
The company will move security teams that monitor content policies and reviews out of California, including Texas, he added.
A Meta spokesperson declined to say which specific teams would move to Texas and whether any would move elsewhere. The spokesperson also declined to cite examples of errors or biases by fact-checkers.
'COMES LIKE A SHOCK'
The demise of the fact-checking program, started in 2016, took partner organizations by surprise.
“We didn't know this move was happening and it comes as a surprise to us. This will definitely affect us,” said Jesse Stiller, editor-in-chief of Check Your Fact.
The director of the International Fact-Checking Network, Angie Drobnic Holan, questioned Zuckerberg's characterization of its members as biased or censorious.
“Fact-checking journalism has never censored or removed posts; it adds information and context to controversial claims, and debunks misleading content and conspiracies. The fact-checkers used by Meta follow a Code of Principles that requires impartiality and transparency,” he said in a statement.
Kristin Roberts, chief content officer at Gannett Media, said, “Truth and facts serve everyone, not the right or the left, and that's what we will continue to deliver.”
“We have heard the news like everyone else today. It is a hard blow for the fact-checking community and journalism. We are assessing the situation,” AFP said in an emailed response to Reuters.
Other partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Reuters declined to comment. Meta's independent Oversight Board welcomed the move.
Zuckerberg in recent months has expressed his regret for certain content moderation actions on topics such as COVID-19. Meta also donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, in a change from his previous practice.
“This is a big step back for content moderation at a time when misinformation and harmful content are evolving faster than ever,” said Ross Burley, co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Information Resilience.
“This move seems more a matter of political appeasement than smart policy.”
For now, Meta is only planning the changes for the U.S. market, with no immediate plans to end its fact-checking program in places like the European Union that take a more active approach to regulating tech companies, a spokesperson said. to Reuters.
“They've come a long way: Meta. The man (Zuckerberg) was very impressive,” Trump said when asked about the company's plan to end fact-checking.
He added that Zuckerberg was probably responding to threats made to him.
Musk's x is already under investigation by the European Commission for the spread of illegal content in the EU and the effectiveness of measures taken to combat information manipulation, including the “Community Notes” system.
The Commission launched its investigation in December 2023, several months after x launched the feature. A Commission spokesperson said it had taken note of Meta's announcement and was continuing to monitor the company's compliance in the EU.
The European Union's Digital Services Law came into force in 2023 and requires large online platforms, such as x and facebook, to address illegal content and risks to public safety.
The law imposes rules on content moderation, user privacy and transparency. Any company that fails to comply faces a fine of up to 6% of its global revenue.
Meta said it would begin rolling out Community Notes in the US over the next few months and improve the model throughout the year.
It will allow users to flag posts that are potentially misleading and need more context, rather than assigning responsibility to independent fact-checking organizations and experts.
Meta said it will not intervene in adding Community Notes to posts on its platforms.
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