Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has announced it will end its third-party fact-checking program, replacing it with a Community Notes system akin to the approach adopted by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, shared the news in a blog post, explaining that the decision was driven by challenges in the fact-checking program. Initially launched to help users assess the accuracy of viral content with the help of independent experts, the program increasingly drew criticism for overreaching, stifling legitimate political speech, and attaching punitive measures like intrusive labels and reduced content distribution.
Kaplan acknowledged that while the fact-checking system aimed to inform users, it often became a tool for censorship. “Over time, too much content that represented legitimate political speech and debate was fact-checked, leading to intrusive labels and reduced distribution,” he said.
The new Community Notes program, set to debut in the U.S., takes inspiration from the success of a similar system on X. It allows users to collaboratively decide when posts require additional context, ensuring that diverse perspectives shape the notes attached to content. Kaplan highlighted the benefits of this approach, saying, “We’ve seen this system work on X, where it empowers the community to decide what context is helpful and reduces the risk of bias.”
Under the Community Notes system, Meta will not write or control the notes nor decide which ones appear on its platforms. Instead, they will be created and rated by a broad base of contributing users. For a note to be published, users with differing viewpoints must agree on its relevance and accuracy.
Kaplan emphasized the importance of transparency, noting that Meta will share how various perspectives influence the notes displayed on its apps. “We are working on the right way to ensure transparency so users understand how different viewpoints inform the context provided,” he said.
This shift marks a significant change in how Meta addresses misinformation across its platforms. While the fact-checking program relied on third-party experts to review content, Community Notes puts power directly in the hands of users. The aim is to foster a collaborative and unbiased approach, enabling users to access additional context without feeling censored.
Meta’s decision aligns with its goal of empowering users to make informed decisions about the content they consume while avoiding the pitfalls of bias and overregulation that plagued the fact-checking system. If successful, the new system could redefine how social media platforms tackle misinformation and ensure balanced information sharing.
