Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other services has announced it will discontinue its third-party factchecking programmes, starting in the US. Journalists and anti-hate speech activists have criticised the decision as an attempt to curry favour with the incoming US president, Donald Trump, but there could be an even more cynical reason. Meta’s strategy could be a calculated move for greater user engagement and income.
This decision marks a significant shift in how the social media giant addresses misinformation on its platforms.
Meta’s official rationale for ending its independent factchecking in favour of crowdsourced contributions centres on promoting free expression. Chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said that the company seeks to reduce censorship and will concentrate its enforcement efforts on illegal or highly harmful content.
