Facebook and Instagram are ditching fact-checkers in favor of a Community Notes system inspired by X: 'Fact-checkers have just been too politically biased,' Zuckerberg says

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Meta Platforms Inc. debuted its first pair of augmented reality glasses, devices that show a combined view of the digital and physical worlds, a key step in Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's goal of one day offering a hands-free alternative to the smartphone. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Mark Zuckerberg says social media platforms Facebook and Instagram are going to "get back to our roots" by removing fact checkers and replacing them with a "Community Notes" system modelled after the one used by Elon Musk's X.

Facebook has implemented a variety of "complex systems" over the years to address the spread of harmful material online, Zuckerberg said in a video message, but those systems sometimes make mistakes—and it's now reached a point where "it's just too many mistakes and too much censorship." He also believes the recent election of Donald Trump as president of the US represents "a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing free speech," which he said has been under fire in recent years from governments and "legacy media."