Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is abandoning its third-party fact-checking program in favor of a community-driven system inspired by Elon Musk’s X.
“We’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes, similar to X, starting in the U.S.,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a video on Tuesday. Zuckerberg argued that the current fact-checking system reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship.”
Since 2016, Meta has collaborated with numerous organizations globally to combat misinformation on its platforms, a response to widespread criticism following the 2016 U.S. election, where the spread of fake news, including content disseminated by foreign actors, garnered significant attention.
The new community-driven system will be rolled out across Threads, Facebook, and Instagram later this year, gradually phasing out the existing fact-checking structure. Meta’s trust and safety team will also undergo a significant shift, relocating from California to locations like Texas.
Similar to X’s Community Notes, previously known as Birdwatch, Meta’s system will rely on user contributions to provide context and assess the accuracy of content shared on its platforms.