Mark Zuckerberg announcing changes at Facebook. (Photo: Facebook)
Zuckerberg to Replace Facebook ‘Fact Checkers’ With Community Notes
Meta ends its fact-checking program and adopts Elon Musk’s X ‘Community Notes’
By Katy Grimes, January 7, 2025 7:19 am
Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday morning that his company Meta/Facebook will end its fact-checking program, and will instead adopt Elon Musk’s X/Twitter “Community Notes” system.
Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg admits “fact checkers” on social media were too “political” said he will end the program on Facebook and Instagram.
Should we celebrate yet?
Zuckerberg actually pledged to restore free expression on his social media platforms.
He has a herculean job ahead.
As someone who is thwarted daily by his contemptible fact checkers, this is welcome news.
Zuckerberg made the announcement in a video on Facebook. Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that the 2024 election influenced the decision, which would impact Facebook, Instagram and Threads. He described the election as a “cultural tipping point.”
He said that there’s been widespread debate about harmful content on social media, and governments and media have pushed to censor more and more.
“We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said in the Facebook video. “More specifically, here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to get rid of fact checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the U.S.”
“We’ve reached a point where there is just too many mistakes and too much censorship,” he said.
The Community notes process is interesting – it allows social media users to make the corrections by tagging posts with sources or to add additional context.
Zuckerberg said the censorship has gotten too political. The very act of censorship is political – it is to silence those you disagree with, the suppression of speech, and public communications.
Not everyone is buying this new and improved Zuckerberg, who has already made a pilgrimage to Mara Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump.
I’m cautiously optimistic. I hope he is sincerely interested in improving his social media business, and not just cozying up to the Trump administration – how will he respond if the next administration demands censorship again?
Interestingly, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White just joined the Meta Board of Directors…
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So, Mr. Zuckerberg installs a friend of President Trump on the board of directors at Meta and he believes that he will be absolved of his crimes from the last few years. I don’t think so. Zuckerberg will face a day of reckoning over his illegal activities. If he doesn’t America’s legal system will continue to devolve into further corruption.
Way too much power for someone still wet behind the ears.
It’s probably too much to expect an actual, thoughtful morality-based decision from Zuckerberg, but he might very well stick with the new way which, as a practical matter, would get the censoring, controlling, bullying “fact-checking” off of the good, honest, sensible journalists’ backs. Maybe, for him, it’s simply a good business decision. More likely he’s the type that “follows the strongest horse,” in this case Trump et al. Or maybe he’s just hungry to be noticed and liked and “respected,” and that hunger is fulfilled by the new crowd. Also possible he is envious of how popular and “beloved” Musk so quickly became in the political realm, and thus he thinks he can have that too simply by copying the more reasonable and effective “community notes” of Musk’s platform. Or maybe he is adopting the new, more reasonable way because of fear that his past election interference might not bode well for his future, to put it lightly.
So it seems there are good reasons to be “cautiously optimistic.” And it IS interesting that UFC CEO Dana White just joined the Board of Meta. Hmm..
Zuckbucks words:
[“We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said in the Facebook video. “More specifically, here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to get rid of fact checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the U.S.”]
Maybe he should dig deep and go way back into the roots of Facebook, it began as a college social media website for awkward young men to attract college women. It worked for Zuckbucks, he bagged a doctor. I think Facebook should return to a College app and the boomers and Gen Xers can have in depth and in person conversations as is meant to be, so that misunderstandings and mistakes can be worked out not “FACT CHECKED” ( censored) by Ukrainian hired HB1 holders! I digress as that is another “mistake” Zuckbucks has made!
Does this clown think a few small concessions to Trump will keep his arse out of jail? You don’t’ steal elections and commit treason and walk away scot free. In Trump’s America (Our America) there are consequences for such things.