You probably didn't have x CEO Linda Yaccarino praising Meta and Mark Zuckerberg on your CES 2025 bingo card, but here we are. Speaking during a keynote speech in Las Vegas, Yaccarino described Meta's decision to implement a long-standing fact-checking program and implement community notes as “exciting” and “validating.”
Yaccarino and x owner Elon Musk have defended the crowd-sourced fact-checking feature that Meta now plans to emulate in its own services. “I think it's really exciting when you think that community notes are good for the world… and it couldn't be more validating than seeing Mark and Meta realize that,” Yaccarino said. “Mark, Meta, welcome to the party.”
However, Meta and Zuckerberg may find themselves in questionable company at the “party.” While x often touts the number of users who contribute to Community Notes, some researchers have pointed out flaws in the feature. A report last year from disinformation researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) noted that many misleading posts, including prominent posts by Musk himself, can rack up billions of views without receiving a correction.
It's not at all surprising that Yaccarino praises Zuckerberg's decision to cut ties with media institutions that have been his longtime partners in fact-checking content on facebook and instagram. Like his boss Musk, he has made no secret of his disdain for “legacy media” and spent a significant portion of his time on stage criticizing “legacy news designed to make you think a certain way.”
Zuckerberg's decision to relax his content moderation standards is the latest sign of how far the facebook founder is willing to go to realign himself with the political right as Donald Trump prepares to take office. He also added a prominent Trump supporter, UFC CEO Dana White, to Meta's board of directors and elevated the company's top Republican executive to run global affairs.
