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10-01-2025
NEW YORK: The co-chair of the independent body that reviews Facebook and Instagram content has said she is “very concerned” about how parent company Meta’s decision to ditch fact-checkers will affect minority groups.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, from Meta’s oversight board, told media she welcomed aspects of the shake-up, which will see users decide about the accuracy of posts via X-style “community notes”.
However, speaking to media she said there were “huge problems” with what had been announced, including the potential impact on the LGBTQ+ community, as well as gender and Trans rights.
“We are seeing many instances where hate speech can lead to real-life harm, so we will be watching that space very carefully,” she added.
In a video posted alongside a blog post by the company on Tuesday, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the decision was motivated by “getting back to our roots around free expression”.
He said third-party fact-checkers currently used by the firm were “too politically biased”, meaning too many users were being “censored”.
However, the journalist Maria Ressa who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 said the suggestion the change would promote free speech was “completely wrong”, telling media the decision meant there were “extremely dangerous times ahead” for social media users and democracy.
“Only if you’re profit driven can you claim that; only if you want power and money can you claim that”, said Ressa, who co-founded the Rappler news site in the Philippines.
‘Kiss up to Trump’
The decision has prompted questions about the survival of the oversight board Thorning-Schmidt co-chairs.
It is funded by Meta and was created by then president of global affairs, Sir Nick Clegg, who announced he was leaving the company less than a week ago.
Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister of Denmark insisted it was needed more than ever.
“That’s why it is good we have an oversight board that can discuss this in a transparent way with Meta”, she said.
Some have suggested Sir Nick’s departure and the fact checking changes are an attempt to get closer to the incoming Trump administration, and catch up with the access and influence enjoyed by another tech titan, Elon Musk.
The tech journalist and author Kara Swisher told media it was “the most cynical move” she had seen Zuckerberg make in the “many years” she had been reporting on him. “Facebook does whatever is in its self-interest”, she said.
“He wants to kiss up to Donald Trump, and catch up with Elon Musk in that act.”
While campaigners against hate speech online reacted with dismay to the change, some advocates of free speech have welcomed the news.
The US free speech group Fire said: “Meta’s announcement shows the marketplace of ideas in action. Its users want a social media platform that doesn’t suppress political content or use top-down fact-checkers.
“These changes will hopefully result in less arbitrary moderation decisions and freer speech on Meta’s platforms.”
Speaking after the changes were announced, Trump told a news conference he was impressed by Zuckerberg’s decision and that Meta had “come a long way”.
Asked whether Zuckerberg was “directly responding” to threats Trump had made to him in the past, the incoming US president responded: “Probably.” (Int’l News Desk)
