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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday the company will eliminate its fact-checking program in favor of user-generated "community notes," mirroring rival platform X's approach. This dramatic shift comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, marking a significant departure from Meta's previous content moderation strategy.
"Fact checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created," Zuckerberg stated in his announcement video. He acknowledged this change would likely result in more controversial content appearing on Facebook and Instagram, describing it as a necessary "tradeoff" to reduce what he termed excessive censorship.
Meta's newly appointed Chief of Global Affairs, Joel Kaplan, explicitly linked the timing to the incoming administration, telling Fox News: "We've got a new administration, and a new president coming in who are big defenders of free expression, and that makes a difference." The company has already demonstrated alignment with the new political landscape, appointing Trump ally Dana White to its board and pledging $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund.
Trump responded positively to the announcement during a Mar-a-Lago press conference: "I watched their news conference, and I thought it was a very good news conference... Meta. Facebook. I think they've come a long way." When asked if the decision was a response to his previous criticisms, Trump replied, "Probably. Yeah, probably."
The Real Facebook Oversight Board condemned the move as "political pandering," stating the changes represent Meta going "full MAGA" and calling it "a retreat from any sane and safe approach to content moderation."
Beyond eliminating fact-checkers, Meta will relocate its trust and safety teams from California to Texas and adjust its automated content filtering systems to focus primarily on "high-severity violations" such as terrorism and child exploitation. The company will also roll back restrictions on political content in users' feeds.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino praised Meta's decision, calling the community notes model "profoundly successful while keeping freedom of speech sacred." Elon Musk simply termed the change "cool."
This shift represents a complete reversal from Meta's 2016 position, when it launched independent fact-checking following concerns about foreign interference in elections. The company's previous system employed over 90 organizations fact-checking content in more than 60 languages.
Zuckerberg emphasized their commitment to working with the Trump administration on free speech issues: "The only way that we can push back on this global trend is with the support of the U.S. government."
