Meta Oversight Board Says Cutting Fact-Checkers Huge Problem

The co-chair of the independent body that scrutinizes Facebook and Instagram said she was “very concerned” about sweeping changes to what content is allowed on the platforms and how it is moderated.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, of Meta's oversight committee, told the BBC she welcomed aspects of the revamp, which will see users deciding the accuracy of posts through X-style “community notes.”

However, she told BBC Radio 4's Today program that there were “huge problems” with what was announced, including the potential impact on the LGBTQ+ community and gender and trans rights.

She added: “We are seeing many examples of hate speech potentially leading to real-life harm, so we will be looking at this area very carefully.”

in the posted video Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post published by the company on Tuesday that the decision was motivated by “getting back to our roots around free expression.”

He said the third-party fact-checkers the company currently uses are “too politically biased,” meaning too many users are being “censored.”

However, journalist Maria Ressa, who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, said it was “completely false” to suggest that the change would promote free speech, telling AFP the decision meant social media would face 'Extremely dangerous times' for users and democracy.

“You can claim this only if you are profit-oriented; you can claim this only if you want power and money,” said Ms. Ressa, co-founder of the Rappler news website in the Philippines.

The decision raised questions about the survival of Ms Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of the oversight committee.

It was funded by Meta and founded by Sir Nick Clegg, then president of global affairs. who announced he was leaving the company Less than a week ago.

Former Danish Prime Minister Ms Thorning-Schmidt insisted it was needed more than ever.

“That's why we have an oversight committee that can discuss this issue with Meta in a transparent way,” she said.

Some believe Sir Nick's departure and the changes to fact-checking are an attempt to draw closer to the incoming Trump administration and catch up with the access and influence Trump enjoys. Elon Musk, another tech giant.

Technology journalist and author Kara Swisher told the BBC it was the “most cynical move” she had made in her “years” covering Zuckerberg.

“Facebook will do whatever is in its self-interest,” she said.

“He wants to curry favor with Donald Trump and catch up to Elon Musk in that regard.”

although Campaigners against online hate speech are dismayed by the changeSome free speech advocates welcomed the news.

US free speech group Fire said: “Meta's announcement shows the marketplace of ideas in action. Its users want a social media platform that does not suppress political content or use top-down fact-checking processes.”

“These changes will hopefully lead to less arbitrary moderation decisions and freer speech on the Meta platform.”

After announcing the changes, Trump told a news conference that he was impressed by Zuckerberg's decision and said Meta had “come a long way.”

Asked whether Zuckerberg was “directly responding” to past threats from Trump, the incoming US president replied: “Probably.”

Zuckerberg acknowledged on Tuesday that the change in company strategy carries some risks.

“This means we will catch fewer bad actors, but we will also reduce the number of innocent people's posts and accounts that we accidentally remove,” he said in a video message.

X took a more hands-off approach to moderating content, which resulted in significant Quarrel with advertisers.

Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg said this is also a risk for Meta.

“Meta's sheer scale and powerful advertising platform have made it somewhat insulated from the exodus of Type X users and advertisers,” she told the BBC.

“But brand safety remains a key factor in determining where advertiser budgets are spent – and given the fierce competition for users and advertising dollars, any significant drop in engagement could hurt Meta's advertising business.”