Meta’s fact-checkers are pushing back against CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s claim that ending the program will help curb censorship on the company’s platforms.
According to CBS News, Meta’s fact-checkers are claiming they have nothing to do with censorship, noting they do not remove posts from any of Meta’s platforms, and claim the company is the “final arbiter” of posted content.
Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, whose entities include PolitiFact, said in a statement to CBS News that fact-checkers have “never censored anything.”
“Facts are not censorship. Fact-checkers never censored anything.” Brown said.
Director of the International Fact-Checking Newtwork, Angie Holan, also said in a statement to the news outlet that only “false information that could cause harm” was removed from the platforms.
“To my knowledge they didn’t take anything down just because it was false — their takedowns were only with false information that could cause harm,” Holan said, “My goal is for an internet where people can go on and find information that’s accurate and reliable and this is a step back, there’s no other way to put it.”
Holan further posted a statement on X, detailing how the removal of fact-checking will “hurt social media users,” and blamed “political pressures” from the incoming Trump administration as to the reason for the axing.
“This decision will hurt social media users who are looking for accurate, reliable information to make decisions about their everyday lives and interactions with friends and family. Fact-checking journalism has never censored or removed posts; its added information and context to controversial claims, and its debunked hoax content and conspiracy theories,” Holan said.
Holan noted that fact-checkers employed by Meta must follow the Code of Principles that requires they are transparent and nonpartisan.
“It’s unfortunate this decision comes in the wake of extreme political pressure from a new administration and its supporters. Factcheckers have not been biased in their work – that attack line comes from those who think they should be able to exaggerate and lie without rebuttal or contradiction,” Holan said.
On Tuesday, Zuckerberg posted a lengthy video on social media, detailing how the company plans to “get back to their roots” on free expression and free speech, which includes nixing fact-checkers on the platform.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer said in a statement on Meta’s website the platform was made to be a place where all opinions can be shared.
“Meta’s platforms are built to be places where people can express themselves freely. That can be messy. On platforms where billions of people can have a voice, all the good, bad and ugly is on display. But that’s free expression,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan went on to say the complex systems developed by Meta across its platforms were put in place in part to respond to outside pressures — both societal and political.
“Too much harmless content gets censored, too many people find themselves wrongly locked up in “Facebook jail,” and we are often too slow to respond when they do,” Kaplan said, “We want to fix that and return to that fundamental commitment to free expression. Today, we’re making some changes to stay true to that ideal.”
