Meta Takes Major Step Toward Freedom of Expression, Ends Third-Party Data Verification Program

In 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter e made a number of changes to the platform, including changing its name to X and introducing Community Notes, which is a feature that allows users to add context or fact-check potentially misleading posts.

This approach differs from Meta’s model, which relies on independent fact-checking organizations to detect misleading posts on Instagram, Facebook and Threads (its rival to X).

However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that Meta will stop working with these organizations and will instead implement an X-like Community Notes feature. Zuckerberg also revealed a number of other major changes to the company’s moderation policies and practices, aimed at offer people more freedom of expression.

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Community Notes Coming to Metaplatforms

Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that the social media company would stop working with third-party fact-checking organizations. in a video Posted on Instagram and Facebook, Zuckerberg said the company’s content moderation approach too often resulted in “censorship.”

“After Trump was first elected in 2016, the legacy media wrote endlessly about how misinformation was a threat to democracy. We tried in good faith to address those concerns without becoming arbiters of truth,” Zuckerberg said. “But fact-checkers have simply been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they have built, especially in the United States.”

Zuckerberg said that Meta will end its data verification program with trusted partners and replace it with a community-driven system similar to X’s Community Notes.

For those unaware, Community Notes on X allows users to collaboratively add context or fact-check potentially misleading posts. When a tweet is flagged for misinformation or lack of context, users can submit notes that provide additional information or correct inaccuracies.

These notes are then reviewed by other users, who can vote up or down the contributions based on their usefulness and accuracy. If a note receives enough support, it becomes visible below the original tweet, offering a balanced view and helping to inform others.

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Meta changes spark backlash from fact-checking community

However, independent fact-checkers are not happy about the change.

“Fact-checking journalism has never censored or removed posts; it adds information and context to controversial claims, and debunks misleading content and conspiracy theories. The fact-checkers used by Meta follow a code of principles that require fairness and transparency.” saying Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network.

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Meta is also reducing censorship.

Zuckerberg also revealed plans to overhaul Meta’s recommendation system, which determines the content shown to users. For years, the company has restricted political content, citing user feedback and concerns about social media’s impact on beliefs.

“We build a lot of complex systems to moderate content, but the problem with complex systems is that they make mistakes,” Zuckerberg said. “Even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts, that’s millions of people, and we’ve reached a point where there are too many errors and too much censorship.”

It added that Meta would remove some content policies on controversial topics, including immigration and gender, and refocus its automated moderation on what it described as high-severity violations. The company will now take a more personalized approach to political content so that people who want to see more of it in their feeds can see it.

Additionally, Facebook will move its trust, safety and content moderation teams from California to Texas. Zuckerberg also said Meta would work with the incoming Trump administration to promote free speech globally, although he did not provide specific details.

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Kurt’s Key Takeaway

Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been more strictly moderated compared to platforms like X, which has meant less freedom of expression for users. The changes Zuckerberg announced Tuesday aim to relax those rules, allowing people to share their thoughts more freely. This could lead to more offensive content, but that’s the trade-off for more freedom. The introduction of Community Notes is also a good change, giving users more control rather than leaving it in the hands of a small group of people who might be biased towards a certain political party or issue.

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