FIRST ON FOX: Meta is ending its fact-checking program and lifting restrictions on speech to “restore free speech” across Facebook, Instagram and Meta platforms, admitting that its current content moderation processes “have gone too far.”
“We will return to our roots and focus on reducing errors, simplifying our policies and restoring free speech on our platforms,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted Tuesday morning. “Specifically, we will remove the fact-checkers and install Public Notes like X, from the US”
Meta’s global CEO, Joel Kaplan, will be on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning for a special interview to discuss the changes.
Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was launched after the 2016 election and was used to “manage content” and misinformation on social media, mostly due to “political pressure,” executives said, but acknowledged the program “has gone too far.”
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Mark Zuckerberg is shown before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31, 2024. (Kent Nishimura)
“We went to independent, fact-checkers,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital in an interview. “It’s become clear that there’s a lot of political bias in what they choose to look at because, basically, they start looking at whatever they see on the platform.”
Kaplan told Fox News Digital that Meta is “getting rid of that completely” and will replace it with a “Community Notes” model similar to the one used at X, formerly Twitter.
“Instead of going to so-called experts, it’s up to the community and people in the field to give their opinion on what they’ve learned,” explained Kaplan, noting that if a note is supported by “a broad section of users,” that note can be attached to the content for others to see.
“We think that’s a much better way than relying on so-called experts who bring their own biases to the process,” Kaplan said.
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Kaplan also told Fox News Digital that Meta is changing some of its content moderation rules, particularly those they feel are “too restrictive and don’t allow enough expression around sensitive topics like immigration, gender issues and sexuality.”
“We want to make sure that speech can happen freely on the platform without fear of censorship,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “We have the power to change the laws and make them support free speech. And we’re not just changing the laws, we’re actually changing the way we apply the laws.”
Meta is ending its fact-checking program and removing restrictions on speech to “restore free speech” across Facebook, Instagram and Meta platforms. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Kaplan said Meta currently uses automated systems, which he said make “too many mistakes” and remove content that “doesn’t even violate our standards.”
He also said that there are certain things that Meta will continue to measure, such as posts related to terrorism, illegal drugs and sexual exploitation of children.
But as for the timing of the changes, Kaplan told Fox News Digital that the company “has a real opportunity now.”
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“We have a new administration coming in that is far from forcing companies to re-evaluate [is more] a big supporter of free speech,” Kaplan said, referring to the Trump administration. “It 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 admitted that he felt pressure from the Biden administration, especially regarding the content of COVID, even things like satire and humor.
“The thing is, like American companies, when other governments around the world don’t have our culture or our first amendment, when they see the United States government pressuring US companies to take down content, it becomes open season for those governments to put more pressure. [on their companies],” Kaplan explained. “We think it’s a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration and work freely at home.”
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Kaplan also said that Meta sees “opportunities for cooperation” with the Trump administration, not only on issues of free speech but also on “developing American business and the American technological edge.”
“Those are the most important issues for Meta and our industry,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “And we’re excited to work with the Trump administration to advance those goals.”
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Meanwhile, Meta also said it plans to take a more personal approach to political content, so users who want to see more posts of that nature can do so.
Meta said it will refocus its enforcement efforts on “unlawful violations and greater rigor.”
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