Meta to end fact-checking, replacing it with community monitoring

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday said the social media company is putting an end to its fact-check program and replacing it with a community-driven system akin to that of Elon Musk’s X. 

Zuckerberg cited the election as underlying the decision, calling it a “cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech.” Zuckerberg made the announcement in a video.

Meta introduced its fact checking program in 2016 as part of an effort to curb misinformation. The initiative was launched in response to criticism over Facebook’s role in spreading false claims during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. A 2023 statement from Meta said the fact-checking program had “expanded to include nearly 100 organizations working in more than 60 languages globally.”

The announcement came a day after Meta said former Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive Dana White, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, would join its board, and shortly after former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced he was stepping down as president of global affairs.

The changes will impact Facebook and Instagram, which have billions of users.

— This is a developing story.