On the other hand, Meta took the controversial step of stopping the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram.
Instead, the company implemented an X-style (formerly Twitter) “community notes” system, where the accuracy of a post is commented on by users.
In a video published alongside Meta’s blog post on Tuesday (local time), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, stated that third-party moderators were ‘too politically biased’ and that it was time to return to freedom of expression.
Joel Kaplan, who replaced Nick Clegg as Meta’s Head of Global Affairs, wrote that the company’s reliance on independent moderators was ‘well-intentioned’, but too often led to user censorship.
This decision drew criticism from anti-hate speech activists. They suspect this change was driven by the desire to establish good relations with the US President-elect, Donald Trump.
“Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement is a blatant attempt to court the incoming administration, with dangerous implications,” said Ava Lee of Global Witness, a campaign group aimed at monitoring big technology companies, quoted by the BBC, Wednesday (8/1/2024 ).
“Claims of avoiding ‘censorship’ are a political move to escape responsibility for hate speech and disinformation encouraged and facilitated by the platforms,” he added.