First up is Fox: Meta is ending its fact-checking program and lifting restrictions on speech to “restore free speech” on Facebook, Instagram and the Meta platform, admitting that its current content moderation practices “go too far.”
“We’re going back to our roots and focusing on reducing errors, simplifying our policies, and restoring free speech on our platform,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted Tuesday morning. “More specifically, we will Eliminate fact-checkers and replace them with community annotations like
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, will discuss the changes in an exclusive interview on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday morning.
Executives said Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was implemented after the 2016 election largely out of “political pressure” and was used to “moderate content” and misinformation on the platform, but acknowledged the system “is outdated “. Far away. ”
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Mark Zuckerberg attends the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on January 31, 2024. (Nishimura Ken)
“We went to an independent, third-party fact-checking organization,” Kaplan said in a Fox News Digital interview. “It’s clear there’s so much political bias in what they choose to fact-check because basically they can fact-check anything they see on the platform.”
Kaplan told Fox Digital News that Meta is “completely ending that” and will replace it with a “community notes” model similar to the one used on X (formerly Twitter).
“Instead of going to some so-called expert, it relies on people in the community and on the platform to provide their own commentary on something they’ve read,” Kaplan explained. He noted that if an annotation reaches “the broadest possible audience, Group”, the annotation can be attached to the content for others to view.
“We think this is a better approach than relying on so-called experts who bring their own biases into the program,” Kaplan said.
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Kaplan also told Fox News Digital that Meta is changing some of its own content moderation rules, specifically those that it believes are “too restrictive and do not allow for adequate discussion around sensitive topics such as immigration, transgender issues and gender.”
“We want to make sure that speech can occur freely on the platform without fear of censorship,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “We have the power to change the rules and make them more supportive of free speech. We don’t just change the rules, we actually It’s changing the way the rules are enforced.”
Meta is ending its fact-checking program and lifting speech restrictions to “restore free speech” on Facebook, Instagram and Meta platforms. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutson)
Kaplan said Meta currently uses automated systems that he said make “too many mistakes” and remove content that “doesn’t even violate our standards.”
He also said Meta would continue to censor certain content, such as posts related to terrorism, illegal drugs and child sexual exploitation.
But as for the timing of change, Kaplan told Fox News Digital “there’s a real opportunity now.”
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“When our new government takes office, it will never put pressure on companies to conduct reviews and reviews. [is more] “He’s a huge supporter of free speech,” Kaplan said of the incoming Trump administration. “This brings us back to the values that Mark founded the company on.”
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer/File)
Last year, Zuckerberg sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in which he acknowledged that he felt pressure from the Biden administration, especially regarding COVID-19 content and even content such as satire and humor.
“The problem is, as an American company, when other governments around the world that don’t have our tradition or the First Amendment see the U.S. government pressuring U.S. companies to remove content, for those countries that don’t have our tradition or the First Amendment, Well, it’s open season. [on their companies]”, Kaplan explained. “We do think this is a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration and work on free speech in the country.
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Kaplan also said that Mehta sees “opportunities to work together” with the Trump administration, not only on free speech issues but also in “promoting American commerce and American technological superiority.”
“These issues are very important to Meta and our industry,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “We are pleased to work with the Trump Administration to advance these goals.”
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At the same time, Meta also said it plans to take a more personal approach to political content so that users who want to see more of these posts can do so.
Meta said it would refocus enforcement efforts on “illegal and highly serious violations.”
