Meta employees have expressed their displeasure with the company’s decision, announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to end the practice of fact-checking by third-party organizations, CNBC reports. The changes include the elimination of fact-checking, which will be replaced by a user-based system similar to Platform X’s (formerly Twitter’s) Community Notes. Restrictions on certain topics will also be reduced. In particular, users will be given a “more personalized approach to political content,” and content moderation will focus on illegal and serious violations.
Employees believe that such actions could increase the spread of misinformation. One employee wrote: “I am extremely concerned that we are effectively declaring that facts no longer matter and calling it a victory for free speech.” Another said: “The denial of responsibility for creating a safe platform is a very sad direction.”
Other comments raised concerns about the impact of the policy changes on discourse around topics like immigration and gender identity, which one employee said could lead to “an influx of racist and transphobic content.” Another employee stated fear that “we’re entering really dangerous territory, paving the way for more misinformation to spread.”
Some employees, however, supported the changes, explaining that Community Notes might be a more objective fact-checking system. One employee said the company should “provide an account of the worst outcomes of the early years” that led to the creation of the third-party fact-checking program, and consider whether the new policy would prevent similar negative outcomes from happening again.
The changes come two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration and follow a series of decisions aimed at accommodating the demands of the new US administration. Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration and appointed UFC CEO Dane White, a longtime Trump friend, to the board.
Employee Reactions and White’s Appointment
Separately, employees have expressed dissatisfaction with White’s appointment. In 2023, he was at the center of a scandal after a video surfaced of him shoving his wife at a party. Although White publicly apologized at the time, the incident raised questions about his alignment with Meta’s corporate values.
Meta employees who oppose the policy change remain wary of the broader implications for platform integrity and user safety, notes NIX Solutions. They worry that loosening fact-checking standards, especially during a politically sensitive period, could further erode trust and amplify problematic content. At the same time, supporters of the new policy believe the user-based system could encourage more democratic participation in identifying misleading information.
We’ll keep you updated on any further developments and clarifications regarding these policy changes. While some within Meta applaud the move toward a user-driven fact-checking model, others emphasize the need to balance free speech with responsible content moderation.