Meta Platforms (META.O) announced significant changes to its approach to managing political content, scrapping its U.S. fact-checking program and easing restrictions on discussions of contentious issues like immigration and gender identity. This move, aimed at addressing conservative criticism, comes ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term and signals CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s intent to rebuild relations with the incoming administration.
The changes, affecting Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, come as Zuckerberg signals a return to prioritizing free expression. Meta’s new approach includes the introduction of “community notes,” similar to the system on Elon Musk’s platform X, replacing the formal fact-checking process. Additionally, Meta will stop proactively scanning for hate speech and other violations, instead focusing on user-reported content and removing only “high-severity violations” like terrorism, child exploitation, and scams.
The company also plans to move teams handling content policy out of California, shifting to Texas and other U.S. locations. These shifts are part of Meta’s broader strategy to reduce content moderation efforts, a move that has surprised fact-checking organizations, who argue that removing checks on content could promote misinformation.
Meta’s move has sparked a range of reactions. Trump has praised the decision, while critics argue that it is politically motivated and a step backward in addressing misinformation. The changes will initially apply to the U.S., with no immediate plans to end fact-checking programs in regions with stricter tech regulations, such as the European Union. The EU is already investigating X’s “Community Notes” system.
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